MSPL LIMITED REP. BY ITS VICE PRESIDENT (CC AND L), SRI K.R.M. REDDY Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA REP. BY ITS SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF FOREST, ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 is a lessee under the current mining lease for mining iron ore (M L No. 2416) over an extent of 350.78 Hectares. Out of 350.78 hectares covering Sy.Nos. 1,4,5, and 6 of Vyasanakere village, Hospet Taluk, Bellary District, an extent of 347.22 hectares was leased out for mining activities and the remaining 3.56 hectares was demarcated for road. 1.2. The said mining lease was granted originally in the year 1952 by the then Government of Madras for 10 years to one K. Narayanaiah and subsequently transferred in favour of the petitioner herein in the year 1962 and got renewed for 20 years each time with effect from 14.11.1962, 14.11.1982 and 14.11.2002. The petitioner, admittedly obtained clearance from the concerned forest authorities as contemplated under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 vide the proceedings dated 8.3.2007 of the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka has also accorded approval for the lease by proceedings dated 23.3.2007. 1.3. With this background, the petitioner entered into an Agreement dated 19.4.2007 with the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary Division, Bellary representing the Government of Karnataka, viz., the fourth respondent, and the relevant Clauses of the Agreement are extracted hereunder: 1. xxx

(2.) XXX

(3.) FENCING , protection and regeneration of the safety zone area (7.5 metres strip all along the outer boundary of the mining lease area) shall be done at the project cost. Besides this, afforestation on degraded forest land, to be selected elsewhere, measuring one and a half times the area under safety zone, shall also be done at the project cost.