K NATHMAL Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment shall dispose of two batches of writ petitions. The first batch will cover the writ petitions, W.P. Nos.16776, 16777, 16778, 16779, 20857 and 20858 of 2000. In all these writ petitions a direction is sought to extend the lease for the unutilised period of the same. All the petitioners in these writ petitions were granted the lease for quarrying sand on various dates. Their contention is that because of the stay orders, etc. passed by this Court in some other writ petitions, these petitioners could not fully utilise the lease and, therefore, they seek the direction to the Government to permit them to continue the quarrying operation for the unutilised period. The claimed period is 4 years, 4 months and six days; 3 years and 2 months; 4 years and 4 months; 4 years and 4 months; 2 years and 10 months; and 2 years and 10 months respectively in the above petitions.

(2.) As against this, writ petitions, W.P. Nos., 553, 585, 2925 of 2001 and 34256 and 35055 of 2002 are the next batch of writ petitions, which are opposing the extension of lease on the ground that the extension would cause serious hazards to the environment inasmuch as the indiscriminate quarrying of the sand of Palar river would deplete the ground-water table and would adversly affect the environment. Other ground is that the vehicles used by the contractors in transporting the sand would cause fatal accidents and would also spoil the roads.

(3.) The second batch of writ petitions was in the nature of Public Interest Litigation . However, since it is connected with the abovementioned first batch of writ petitions, these writ petitions are made over to this Court.