Ranchi, Feb. 14: Jharkhand High Court today quashed the government notification banning direct export of iron ore fines to foreign countries but allowed to declare its use at pellet plants within India null and void since it was not in the interest of the state.
The court held that fines come under the purview of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act and is controlled by the Union government, therefore the state had no authority to frame any law or rule for disposal of fines.
A public interest litigation was filed by Daltonganj MLA K.N. Tripathi, challenging a gazette notification issued in August 2011 by the government for disposal of fines, sought an inquiry into all type of mining lease deeds and a ban on transportation of iron ore fines outside Jharkhand.
Explaining fines, Tripathi said that in the process of iron ore mining, several chunks of the ore were broken into smaller parts and crushed. The ore less than 10mm in size is categorised as fines, he added.
Dealing in fines also was brisk business and the bulk of it would go to private companies that had been given licences for captive mining, Tripathi argued. The fines would be sold out of Jharkhand and state revenues would be lost at the hands of private players, he added.
The counsel for the petitioner, Ananda Sen, said that major minerals, including iron ore, could not be decided upon by the state government according to existing statutes.
He further argued that the government had arbitrarily issued the notification that had far-reaching consequences.
According to the notification, the government has allowed as many as 44 lease-holders the permit to sell fines outside the state for a period of one year. The 2011 notification nullified an earlier notification of the government issued in 2009 by which three companies — Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India and Usha Martin Industries — that are running captive mines under a lease by the government were banned to sell fines.
Advocate general A.K. Sinha defended the government by referring to a communication received by the government from the Indian Bureau of Mines for disposal of fines.
