BINOY VIJAYAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY GOVERNMENT OF KERALA, GOVT. SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 695 001 AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is stated to be the owner in possession of 4.20 Ares of land in R.Sy.No.248/18 in Peringanadu Village. With a view to construct a house in the land owned by him, the petitioner had approached the local authority for the purposes of issuing a building permit, and a building permit was in fact issued to the petitioner for construction of a house of less than 300 sq. m. The petitioner has also obtained a development permit for developing the land in connection with the construction activities. The case of the petitioner in the writ petition is essentially that, when armed with the building permit and the development permit, he had approached the 3rd respondent Geologist for the issuance of necessary transit passes for transporting the mined earth, the said respondent insisted on the petitioner complying with various conditions which are not prescribed in the statutory rules that govern the transportation of minerals. It is the case of the petitioner that when the statutory rules do not provide for restrictions in the matter of transportation of the earth, then it is not open to the District Collector or any authority to impose conditions contrary to the statutory Scheme of the Rules.

(2.) I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as also the learned Government Pleader for the respondents. On a consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case as also the submissions made across the bar, I am of the view that inasmuch as the petitioner has already obtained a building permit and the development permit from the relevant statutory authorities, the issue of transit passes to the petitioner for transporting the earth mined in his premises must necessarily be dealt with by the Senior Geologist in the manner contemplated under the statutory Rules [Kerala Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2015]. Accordingly, I dispose the writ petition with the following directions: