CHIKKUSAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN all these petitions, petitioners are persons who claim ownership of agricultural lands located at different places, one such being at Rechamballi Village, presently, Chamarajanagar District which is also described as an erstwhile old Mysore area and such lands which are described as patta lands and the owners of such lands being also known as 'pattadars'.

(2.) IT is the admitted position that all petitioners are carrying on quarrying activities which does amount to mining operation as understood under the provisions of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (for short, 'mmdr Act'), Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 as also the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1994.

(3.) PETITIONERS who extract the mineral, particularly, black granite or the pink granite from the quarries, after cutting boulders and rocks into requisite size, want to transport the same to a port wherefrom it is being exported to foreign countries. Such transportation is governed by Rule 42 of the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1994 and necessary application for securing what is known as the mineral dispatch permit in Form MDP had been made by the petitioners. It is in the process of issue of such permits that the petitioners have encountered hurdles and difficulties and the petitioners are complaining that they are being unnecessarily asked to run around made to go from pillar to post; that the respondents, particularly, the officials of the department of Mines and Geology, the Deputy Director has not positively responded to their application and for issue of mineral dispatch permit, but purporting to place reliance on certain communication dated 7-12-2001 (copy at Annexure-H) said to have been issued by the Deputy commissioner of the District has withheld issue of mineral dispatch permits on the premise that he has been apprised by the Deputy Commissioner through the letter referred to above apprising that such applicants may be informed that they can get mineral dispatch permits only after securing permission in terms of the provisions of Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue act, 1964 (for short, 'the Act'), a permission where under the petitioners are allowed to use agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes also and that they have been asked to ensure with the same; that such mineral dispatch permits will be issued only after the authorities are satisfied that the petitioners are persons in possession of a permission in terms of Section 95 of the karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964.