HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY WRIT PETITION No.2898 of 2011 Date : 18.03.2011 Between : M/s.Pokarna Ltd., Secunderabad, rep. by its General Manager (Quarry Operations). …..Petitioner And The State of A.P., rep. by the Director of Mines and Geology & others. …..Respondents HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY WRIT PETITION No.2898 of 2011 ORDER : The Petitioner-Company seeks directions by way of Mandamus, declaring the action of 2nd respondent- Assistant Director of Mines and Geology in not forwarding the application of petitioner for grant of quarry lease in respect of land covered by Sy.No.86, situated in Sathapur village of Pedakothapally Mandal in Mahabubnagar District along with no objection certificate sent by the 4th respondent, as illegal and arbitrary. Petitioner herein, which is a Company registered under the Companies Act, has submitted application in Form-I on 10.12.2007, for grant of mining lease for Quartz over an extent of 60 acres in Sy.No.86 of Sathapur village in Pedakothapally Mandal of Mahabubnagar District, for a period of thirty years. On the application submitted by the petitioner, the 2nd respondent-Assistant Director of Mines and Geology has addressed letter No.3438/Mi/2007, dated 10.12.2007, 13.10.2009 and 24.08.2010, to the 4th respondent-Tahsildar, for issuance of no objection certificate. It is the case of the petitioner that on the letter addressed by the Assistant Director of Mines and Geology, the 4th respondent has sent no objection certificate, but inspite of the same, the 2nd respondent is not forwarding the petitioner’s application to the 1st respondent-Director of Mines and Geology, to consider the same for grant of quarry lease. The 2nd respondent-Assistant Director of Mines and Geology has filed a detailed counter affidavit. It is stated in the counter that on the communication sent by him, the Tahsildar has issued letter No.B/8565/10, dated 15.12.2010, without any sketch and other documents. It is stated that as per the existing procedure, the Xerox copy of the no objection certificate issued by the Tahsildar, will be forwarded to the District Collector, Mahabubnagar for objections, if any, and basing on the recommendations of the District Collector, further action will be taken. For expeditious disposal of applications for quarry lease, the Government has issued guidelines in G.O.Ms.No.181, dated 28.05.1998. As per the guidelines notified by the Government, when communication is sent by the Assistant Director of Mines and Geology, the Tahsildar has to send necessary documents directly to the Assistant Director of Mines and Geology by addressing a copy to the District Collector concerned. It is always open to the District Collector to send his remarks, if he is in disagreement with the recommendations sent by the Tahsildar, but at this stage, the respondents cannot withhold the proceedings, without sending the same to the competent authority. As much as it is stated that the 4th respondent- Tahsildar has merely sent the letter, dated 15.12.2010, without any sketch and other documents, I deem it appropriate to dispose of the writ petition, directing the 4th respondent to send all necessary documents to the 2nd respondent-Assistant Director of Mines and Geology, within a period of two months from today. On receipt of such documents, the 2nd respondent, in turn, shall forward the same to the 1st respondent to consider the quarry application of the petitioner. It is made clear that the 4th respondent-Tahsildar shall also mark a copy of his report to the District Collector, on the application of the petitioner for grant of quarry lease. It is also made clear that if the 3rd respondent-District Collector is not in agreement with the recommendation of the 4th respondent, it is open for him to send his own remarks/ recommendations to the concerned authority i.e. the Director of Mines and Geology. On receipt of necessary communication from the 2nd respondent, the 1st respondent shall consider the application of the petitioner on its own merits and take appropriate decision. Subject to above directions, the writ petition is disposed of. No costs. ______________________ R. SUBHASH REDDY, J 18th March 2011 ajr