- (1.) What should be the appropriate contours of this Court's jurisdiction while dealing with allegations of systematic plunder of natural resources by a handful of opportunists seeking to achieve immediate gains? This is the core question that arises in the present proceeding in the context of mining of Iron Ore and allied minerals in the State of Karnataka.
(2.) Over exploitation, if not indiscriminate and rampant mining, in the State of Karnataka, particularly in the District of Bellary, had been purportedly engaging the attention of the State Government from time to time. In the year 2006, Justice U.L. Bhat Committee was appointed to go into the issues which exercise, however, did not yield any tangible result. Thereafter, the matter was referred to the Lokayukta of the State and a Report dated 18.12.2008 was submitted which, prima facie, indicated indiscriminate mining of unbelievable proportions in the Bellary district of the State. It is in these circumstances, that the petitioner- Samaj Parivartana Samudaya had instituted the present writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution complaining of little or no corrective action on the part of the State; seeking this Court's intervention in the matter and specifically praying for the reliefs noted hereinbelow. "(A) To issue a Writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing immediate steps be initiated by both the Respondent States and the Union of India to stop all mining and other related activities in forest areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka which are in violation of the orders of this Hon'ble Court dated 12.12.1996 in W.P (C) No 202 of 1995 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. B) To issue a Writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing as null and void retrospectively all 'raising contracts' / sub leasing because which are in violation of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and initiate penal action against the violators. C) To issue a Writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the stoppage of all mining along the border and in forest areas in the Bellary Reserve Forest till a systematic survey of both the interstate border and the mine lease areas along the entire border is completed by the Survey of India along with a representative of the Lokayukta of Karnataka. D) To issue a Writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing action against all the violators involved either directly or indirectly in illegal mining including those named in the Report of the Lokayukta of Karnataka (Part-I). E) To issue a Writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the recovery of the illegal wealth accumulated through the illegal mining and related activities; and F) To issue a Writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing null and void notification No. CI 33 MMM 1994 dated 15.3.2003 and other related notifications/orders dereserving lands for mining operations."
(3.) The writ petition was entertained and the Central Empowered Committee (hereinafter for short "the CEC") was asked to submit a report on the allegations of illegal mining in the Bellary region of the State of Karnataka. The very initial order of this Court is dated 19.11.2010 and was restricted to six mining leases granted in favour of M/s. Bellary Iron Ore Pvt. Ltd., M/s. Mahabaleswarapa & Sons, M/s. Ananthapur Mining Corporation and M/s. Obulapuram Mining Company Pvt. Ltd. What followed thereafter is unprecedented in the history of Indian environmental jurisprudence. It is neither necessary nor feasible to set out the series of Reports of the CEC and the various orders of the Court passed from time to time. Rather, a brief indication of the core Reports of the CEC and the main orders passed by the Court will suffice to understand what had happened so to enable the Court to unravel the course of action for the future.;