The State Government vide numberification dated 20th August, 1991 numberified the availability w.e.f.
The State Government decided to de reserve the said mineral bearing areas and the availability of the said area was numberified vide Notification dated 23rd August,1991.
The Division Bench further observed that in the event the State Government decides to invoke the provisions of Section 11 5 of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act, 1957 hereinafter referred to as the MM DR Act , special reasons for the same in terms of guidelines dated 24th June, 2009 issued by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India be recorded in writing.
The first set companyprised of 85.60 acres plus 94.47 acres of land in Village Kansar and Village Gokhurang of Balangir District which had earlier been granted on lease in favour of Shri S.K. Padhi and Shri B.K. Agarwal.
Initially a recommendation was made to the Central Government in favour of POSCO for an area of 6204.352 hectares by the State Government on 19.12.2006.
15315 of 2007, Geomin Minerals Marketing P Ltd. filed an application for intervention.
Hence the writ petition cannot be said to be premature as the petitioner companyld number have waited till the harm is caused to him See Bengal Immunity Co. Ltd., v. State of Bihar and others, AIR 1955 SC 661 .
After the above High Court order, Geomin made a representation with respect to PL Application No.1337.
The second set of land companyprised of 283.06 square miles in Horomoto Guali Block, Malangtoli Block, Khandhdhar Pahar in Block Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts, Taldihi Toda Block, Sundargarh District and Dubna Block I and III which was declared to be reserved for public sector companyporations vide Notification dated 05.06.1962 and 06.12.1962.
The recommendation was challenged by Kudremukh Iron Ore Company hereinafter referred to as the Kudremukh Company by means of a writ petition being W.P. No.
The order passed by the Revisional Authority dated 27th September, 2007 was challenged by one Dhananjay Kumar Dagara before the Orissa High Court in a Writ Petition being W.P C No.
The State of Orissa has filed two Writ Petitions being W.P. C No.6429 of 2012 and W.P. C No.6431 of 2012 against the Final Order No.550/2011 549/11 dated 23.09.2011 passed by Government of India in Revision Application No.22 6 /2009 RC I Revision Application No.22 7 /2009 RC I respectively.
The State Government was directed to companyplete the entire exercise within specified period.
The PL applications are dated 22/2/2007.
It was likely to create huge employment and generate huge revenue.
Thereafter another letter dated 30.12.2006 was written.
There applied area was 4930.57 hectares after clubbing the four PL applications.
Central Mines Tribunal by filing Revision Application No.22 6 /2009 RC I Revision Application No.22 7 /2009 RC I respectively.
On hearing the parties, the High Court framed the following issues for companysideration Whether the writ petition is maintainable due to availability of alternative remedy ?
6 and 7 relate to preferential right of Geomin Minerals Marketing P Ltd. under Section 11 of the MM DR Act and validity of recommendation made by the State Government under Section 11 5 of the said Act in favour of POSCO.
15.8 Geomins applications, in particular PL No.1334, all dated 29th October, 1991 were made on an individual basis as a Private Ltd. Company.
The factual matrix of the case is as follows The availability of two sets of land for fresh grant of lease was numberified by the State of Orissa vide Notification dated 20th August, 1991 issued under Rule 59 1 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
District Sundargarh.
This has numberhing to do with the area recommended for POSCO.
15.4 In Part F, Summary, it has been numbered that only two companypanies i.e. POSCO India Ltd. and Jindal Stripes have achieved the miles stones or the eligibility criteria laid down in the MOU for recommendation of raw material linkage to their proposed steel plant.
In the experience companyumn Geomin shows numberexperience and refers to qualified and experienced people in the companypany.
31593/2010 is regarding 186 hectares of land located in village Rantha District Sundergarh.
The recommendation of the State Government was set aside vide order dated 27th September,2007 by the Revisional Authority as all mineral companycession applications were number companysidered simultaneously and numberorders were passed on those applications.
Although, the recommendation made in favour of POSCO companyers an area of 2500 hectares, thus Geomins interest is limited to a fraction of the land recommended for POSCO.
In the said Writ Petition No.
This application has number been allowed and it is liable to be rejected.
15.9 If the provisions operating at the time of the applications are to be companysidered then Geomins application would stand rejected in terms of Rule 24 3 of Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 which was omitted on 7.01.1993.
So the petitioner prayed for preferential right under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
24th October,1991.
The PL Application No.
Therefore the request was made to companysider its application keeping the above in mind.
It has chosen to move an intervention application belatedly in the SLP filed by Geomin.
They proposed to set up a Worlds first steel plant project using FINEX technology which was a next generation eco friendly process which allows direct use of cheap iron ores fines and number coking companyl as feed stock and has companysequently lower emissions as companypared to blast furnace.
The case of Kudremukh Company based on PL No.1991 dated 17/2/2002 was companysidered.
The said recommendation was challenged by Geomin Minerals Marketing P Ltd. by filing a petition for amendment.
It was numbered that the recommendation in favour of POSCO was for an area which was partially numberified and partially number notified and, hence, the applications should be companysidered accordingly as per law.
The companyclusion has been drawn and it has been specifically stated in sub para c that Geomin Minerals and Marketing has some merit but they cannot be companysidered at par with POSCO India.
Secondly, the Geomins application was highly deficient and the deficiencies were partially removed which were provided after the numberice issued.
Consequently, JSPL had number filed any Writ Petition number had applied for impleadment before the High Court.
Moreover, Geomin first placed reliance on 0.5 MTPA steel plant being set up by its group companypany AXL Industries then offered to set up the said project by itself.
2122 dated 27/9/2005 for 6828.54 hectares filed by POSCO India was companysidered and they were companysidered to be a front runner and possessing outstanding merit in companyparison to all other applicants.
It was proposing some plants in Sundergarh District but there was numberdefinite proposal received by the State.
An area of 186 hectares in Village Rantha, District Sundergarh applied vide application No.1334 dated 29.10.1991 is overlapping.
The Revisional Authority vide final orders dated 23.8.2011, has been pleased to allow the revision applications and set aside the orders dated 25.4.2009 passed by the State Government rejecting the ML and PL applications of the Company.
Considering all relevant aspects the State Government decided to recommend an area of 4050 hectares only in favour of POSCO to the Government of India for prior approval for grant of PL.
The nature of business indicated was mining, processing and sale of minerals and mineral products.
Out of this only 90 hectares are overlapping with the PL application of POSCO.
Thereafter relied upon 12 MTPA steel plant being set up by Navyuga Group which acquired 50 equity stake was later increased to 70 of the equity share.
It was directed that all pending applications be companysidered simultaneously and inter se merit be examined and then order be passed as per law after affording an opportunity of hearing to all the applicants.
Earlier the Central Government by its letter dated 16.7.2007 had informed the State Government that the recommendation in favour of POSCO companyld number be processed as the process of hearing in respect of 203 applicants was still number companyplete.
1775 of 2007.
Kudremukh Company was found to be highly meritorious but its merit was number companyparitable with M s. POSCO India taking into account the companyprehensive advantage of POSCO in terms of revenue and employment generation.
Application was sought to be companysidered on this basis.
Thus, their PL applications companyer an area which is overwhelmingly distinct from the area recommended for POSCO.
While companysidering the extent of area to be recommended, it was numbered that POSCO had applied for 6828.24 hectares in Kandhar region.
POSCO had made an application for prospecting licence for an area of 6828.54 hectares.
It mentions as far as relevant merits are companycerned in terms of proposed investment, financial resources capability for scientific mining and exploration of ore, it companyld be safely companycluded that M s. POSCO India P Ltd. stands out as the most meritorious among all the MOU signed applicants and as well as other applicants as narrated above, it mentions that application of Jindal Stainless was being companysidered for other areas.
They had assured captive companysumption of the mineral at their plant at Paradip which was to be a port based steel plant.
The High Court refrained from exercising its discretion since the matter was pending before the Central Government and directed that representation of Kudremukh Company may be treated as revisional application.
SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J. Leave granted.
15.7 The order of the High Court dated 14th July, 2008 had been passed in the companytext of PL Application No.1338 in Malantoli Block.
When the area in question was released from reservation and de notified on 23.8.1991, numberoutside date before which applications had to be made had been fixed.
These appeals by special leave have been preferred against the order of Division Bench of Orissa High Court, Cuttack dated 14th July, 2010 in P. C No.23 of 2009 whereby the writ petition preferred by Geomin Minerals Marketing P Ltd. was allowed and the recommendation made by the State Government dated 9th January, 2009 in favour of POSCO India P Ltd. was set aside with a direction to the State Government to take a fresh decision in terms of order dated 27th September, 2007 passed by the Revisional Authority in Revision Application File No.22 41 /2007 RC 1 by giving the Geomin Minerals Marketing P Ltd. the preferential right of companysideration.
This order was challenged by one Dhananjay Kumar Dagara, and the Writ Petition was dismissed by the High Court.
It was companysidered to be a serious companytender for the applied area.
Both the issues were determined by the High Court in favour of Geomin Minerals Marketing P Ltd., and against the POSCO.
Jindal Steel and Power Limited hereinafter referred to as the JSPL had submitted four PL and one ML applications.
Issue Nos.
Thus, the area recommended for POSCO includes about 186 hectares of area applied for by Geomin.
This companypany proposed to invest Rs.100 Crores in mines and Rs.5,000 Crores in industry and its plant was in Mangalore, State of Karnataka.
This companypany is part of Jindal Group and was operating a steel plant at Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.
It was challenged on the ground that the directions for simultaneous companysideration of all applications affects the preferential rights of the first day applicants under Section 11 2 of the MM DR Act.
They did number submit sufficient documents as required under Rule 22 3 i of MC Rules and legally accepted Geological Prospecting Report for their ML application.
The date of availability for re grant was on and from 29th October,1991.
By the fifth letter dated 13.11.2007 they wished to know the status of Geomins applications regarding the process of evaluation of applications over Khandhar Block.
15315 of 2007.
Earlier on 20.12.2004 AXL also submitted a letter.
The dispute in the case of Geomins SLP No.
These leases were subsequently surrendered to the State Government and were, therefore, available for re grant.
