But it does appear prime facie from the advertisement in the issue of the Statesman dated 13th September, 1967 that the proposal of the State Government to mine apatite and phosphate for its own fertilizer factory in the public sector was abandoned and the State Government was prepared to give mining lease to a party which was prepared to undertake a project of setting up a plant for beatification of this mineral so as to make it suitable for use as raw material for the manufacture of phosphatic fertilizer.
Whilst the revision application was pending, the appellants read an advertisement in the issue of Statesman dated 13th September, 1967 to the following effect Government of Bihar Department of Mines Geology, Patna.
The appellants thereupon preferred the present appeal against the order of the Central Government with special leave obtained from this Court.
The State Government may companysider giving tax holidays for a filed period and also may guarantee the safety of the investment invested parties capable of making investment to the tuner of 40 to 50 lakhs in undertaking to above project may obtain further particulars from the 1044 Mines Commissioner, Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Bihar.
Sd K. ABRAHAM, Commissioner of Mines Geology.
A reserve of a little over 1 million tonnes of low grade Apatite Mineral with average 16 P.O. has been proved in a belt companysisting of several mouzas in the Singhbhum District of Bihar.
Report of economic feasibility studies available.
K. Mehta and K. R. Nagaraia, for the appellant.
The Central Government invited companyments of the State Government on the revision application and on the companyments submitted by the State Government, the appellants were given an opportunity to submit their cross comments which they did on 8th August, 1967.
The representative bulk samples of the minerals have laboratory Jamshedpur, and it has been found that the mineral can be suitably upgraded by benefication, to yield Apatite companycentrate with 36 to 40 P.O., suitable for use as raw material for the manufacture of Phosphetic fertiliser.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated the 2nd December, 1967 of the Government of India, Ministry of Steel, Mines and Metals Department of Mines and Metals at New Delhi in No.
The appellant immediately addressed a companymunication dated 26th September, 1967 to the Central Government enclosing a companyy of the advertisement and pointing out that it was clear from the advertisement that the State Government had abandoned the idea of working apatite and phosphate in the public sector and that the ground for rejecting the application of the appellants for mining lease numberlonger existed.
The State Government thereafter by an order dated 9th February, 1967 rejected the application of the appellants on the ground that the State Government had already taken a decision number to grant lease for phosphate ore to any individual or private party as it had decided to work this mineral in the public sector.
The appellants again filed a revision application to the Central Government against the order of the State Government rejecting their application.
The Central Government, however by an order dated 2nd December, 1967 rejected the revision application stating that the Central Government have companye to companyclusion that as the StateGovernment are anxious to do phosphate mining for their own fertilizer factory in public sector, there is numbervalid ground for interfering with the decision of the State Government rejecting your application for grant of mining lease for apatite and phosphate in Singhbhum district.
Mining and beatification of low grade apatite of Singhbhum.
Patna.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
The appellants brought this advertisement to the numberice of the Central Government by their representation dated 26th September, 1967 and this was done before the revision application was disposed of by the Central Government.
The appellants preferred a revision application to the Central Government on 16th February, 1966 against the deemed refusal of their application under Rule 54 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
This was undoubtedly the original ground put forward by the State Government for rejecting the application of the appellants for mining lease.
This sub lease, according to the State of Bihar, came to an end from 1st September, 1964 and the appellants, therefore, made an application to the State of Bihar on 22nd/24th March, 1965 for a grant of fresh mining lease for extraction of apatite and phosphate from the same area under Rule 22 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 made by the Central Government under s. 13 of the Mines Minerals Regulation Development Act, 1957.
1633 of 1968.
The Central Government disposed of the revision application by an order dated 31st December, 1966 directing the State Government to companysider the application of the appellants and to decide it on merits.
P. Singh and Shambhu Nath Jha, for respondent No.
P. Nayar and Girish Chandra, for respondent No.
203 of 1905 for extracting phosphate from 1043 an area of 400 hectares situate in Singhbhum District in the State of Bihar.
Since 23rd December, 1959 the appellants had a sub lease from the Receiver in Suit No.
The State Government failed to dispose of the application within a period of nine months from the date of its receipt and hence under Rule 24 3 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 the application was deemed to have been refused by the State Government.
The judgment of the Court was delivered by BHAGWATI, J. This appeal can be disposed of on a very narrow point and we will, therefore, set out only so much of the facts giving rise t s the appeal as bear on this point and omit what is unnecessary.
M.V. 1 141 /67.
