NARAYAN PRASAD SAH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN all these cases, the petitioners were operating Saw Mills under licences, subsisting or lapsed, issued under the provisions of the Bihar Saw Mills (Regulation) Act. The petitioners in all these cases seek to challenge the Government Resolution issued by the Secretary, Environment & Forest Department, Government of Bihar under his memo no. 418E, dated 8.7.2002 (a copy of which is at Annexure 5 in C.W.J.C. No. 9701 of 2002).

(2.) THE resolution coming under challenge contains certain decisions arrived at by the State Government after a long exercise following directions issued by the Supreme Court in Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of 1995 (T.N. Godavarman Thirumalpad V/s. Union of India and Ors.). In compliance with the directions issued by the Supreme Court from time to time in the aforesaid case, the State Government constituted Expert Committee(s) and in the light of the reports of the Expert Committee(s), it has issued the impugned resolution. By the impugned resolution the Government fixed the total number of Saw Mills (1450) on the basis of the sustainable capacity of the forests in the State. It then fixed the norms of distribution of the 1450 Saw Mills mainly on the basis of population and demand for timber in the rural and urban areas. In the impugned resolution the Government also laid down norms for issuing new licences and/or for shutting down the saw mills being in excess of 1450, the total number of saw mills fixed for the State in the light of the Supreme Court directions. As a consequence of the State Government decisions, as contained in the impugned notification, a large number of saw mills are faced with the prospect of cancellation/ non -renewal of their licences for running saw mills and in those circumstances a number of writ applications have been filed challenging the Government Resolution, dated 8.7.2002.

(3.) MR . Mahto submitted that to carry on business in timber and to run saw mills was one of the fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. The right was subject only to reasonable regulatory measures which were contained in the Bihar Saw Mills (Regulation) Act, 1990 and the Saw Mills (Regulation) Rules, 1993 and as long as the petitioners conformed to the regulatory measures laid down by the Act and the Rules, they could not be denied the right to carry on business of saw mills.