JACOB GEORGE Vs. TOMY ABRAHAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The review petitioner, claiming to be a resident of the locality, seeks review of the directions in the judgment, impugned herein, permitting the writ petitioner to remove the granite aggregate remaining in the unit, to which the writ petitioner has obtained a quarrying licence, which, allegedly, was quarried prior to 2013-14. The specific direction assailed by the review petitioner is:

(2.) The writ petition was filed for the purpose of setting off, the royalty paid in the year 2013-14, as against quarrying licence obtained by the writ petitioner; but, however, no quarrying operations have been carried on, for reason of the rejection of the application for D&O Licence by the Panchayat as well as the stop memo issued by the District Geologist.

(3.) A reading of the judgment would indicate that the petitioner had quarrying lease for different periods, between 06.09.2011 and 20.09.2021 and between 08.02.2010 and 07.02.2022. During the financial year 2013-14, the District Collector issued a prohibitory order [Exhibit P6 in the writ petition], directing stoppage of the quarries owned by the writ petitioner; based on which the Geologist also issued a stop memo. The Panchayat had also cancelled the D&O Licence issued in the said financial year; pursuant to which the writ petitioner was not able to carry on any quarrying operations in the financial years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16. By the year 2016-17, the petitioner obtained an Environmental Clearance [for brevity "EC"], though that was not a requirement in view of the quarrying lease of the writ petitioner having been issued prior to the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court in Deepak Kumar and Others Vs. State of Hawryana and Others [(2012) 4 SCC 629] and the Office Memorandum of the year 2012 amending the EIA notification of 2006. The writ petitioner also obtained a D&O Licence for the year 2016-2017.