Beach Minerals Company Private Limited (BMCPL) has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court challenging a Government Order issued on November 25, 2021 prematurely terminating a 30-year mineral concession granted to it in 2004 for mining garnet, ilmenite and rutile from 4.42.5 hectares of Patta land at Kuttam village in Radhapuram Taluk of Tirunelveli district.
Justice Anita Sumanth on Monday directed Additional Government Pleader B. Vijay to take notice on behalf of the State government and ordered notice, returnable by June 13, to the Centre too since the lease had been terminated on the basis of a decision taken by the latter in 2019 to ban private lessees in places where monazite, an atomic mineral, was available along with other beach sand minerals.
In its affidavit, the petitioner firm stated that the Commissioner of Geology and Mining had granted mining lease to it on March 1, 2004 after being satisfied with all mandatory requirements. Subsequently, the Tirunelveli Collector executed a lease deed on July 12, 2004 agreeing to grant permission for mining till 2034. Since then, the company had invested around Rs. 600 crore for the mining activities.
Hundreds of employees too had been engaged for the work and about 3,000 labourers were dependent on the mining work for their livelihood. However, the Union Ministry of Mines, after consultation with the State governments, in 2019 decided to prematurely terminate all existing mineral concessions of beach sand minerals held by private companies to prevent loss of leakage of monazite.
Though the petitioner firm, during the personal hearing afforded by the Industries Secretary on October 17, 2019, contended that its sister concern had filed a case in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh against the Centre’s decision and obtained an order of status quo, the Secretary refused to accept it on the ground that an order of that High Court would not be applicable to a lessee operating in Tamil Nadu.
Further, on the petitioner firm’s contention that the availability of monazite on its lease area was only 0.03% and therefore it could be permitted to continue with the lease, the Secretary stated that the Centre had fixed the threshold value of monazite to be 0.00% and therefore the plea could not be accepted. He also said that the petitioner firm could file a revision against his order before the Department of Atomic Energy.
However, claiming that filing of a revision might not enure to its benefit in any way, the petitioner stated that therefore, it had chosen to file a writ petition instead.
