S.Nagarajan v. The Secretary to Government, Industries (MMC) Department, Secretariat, Chennai & Ors.

3passed in the above representations, the petitioner has filed the presentwrit petition, for the relief as stated supra. 7. Per contra, placing reliance on G.O.Ms.No.19, Industries(MMD.1), dated 25.01.2011, by which, the Government have introduced the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011, Mr.Pugalendhi, learned SpecialGovernment Pleader, submitted that rules have been framed under Sections15(1)(1-A) and 23(C)(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (Central Act 67 of 1957), for illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and the abovesaid rules isapplicable to the petitioner, who claims to be a dealer in stone dust, which is nothing but a mineral. According to him, stone dust cannot besaid to be a waste by-product of rough stones, but the same is also usedfor manufacture of hollow block bricks, and in such circumstances, forstorage and transportation of crusher dust, necessary licence has to beobtained from the competent authority, under the new rules.

8. Learned Special Government Pleader further submitted thatwhen the stone dust is also marketed and used as a building material, merely because, it is in powder form, it cannot be said that, it is not amineral under the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportationand Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011. According tohim, it is a by-product of rough stone and therefore, the rules areapplicable to the case of the petitioner. 9. Insofar as reliance to the unreported judgment in W.P.(MD)Nos.12738 to 12741 of 2009, dated 15.12.2009, learned Special GovernmentPleader submitted that the abovesaid judgment cannot be made applicableto the facts of this case, after the introduction of the Tamil NaduPrevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011. For the reasons stated supra, he prayed fordismissal of the writ petition. 10. By way of reply, the party-in-person, took this Court throughcertain provisions in the rules introduced in G.O.Ms.No.19, Industries(MMD.1), dated 25.01.2011 and further submitted that the crusher dust, isa by-product, when stone is crushed and that it is not covered under thedefinition of the Mineral.

According to him, the Tamil Nadu MinorMineral Concession Rules, deals only with mineral in solid form and itdoes not deal with the crushed dust, which is in powder form. 11. The petitioner has further submitted that the word, "mineral"means, "all minerals and minor minerals except sand and the definition ofmineral, cannot be extended to a by-product. It is also his contentionthat the exclusion of by-product in the rules, has been doneintentionally by the Legislature and in such circumstances, the Government cannot add any waste or by-product, as mineral and prohibittransportation from one place to another or from the place of stockyard. According to him, no registration is required for locating a stockyardnor any permission is required for transporting crush dust. It is hisfurther contention that the new rules stated supra, are not applicable tothe petitioner. https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 4Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the materialsavailable on record.

12. The main contention of the writ petitioner is that though thestone or crusher dust is a by-product of rough stone and not occurring inthree physical conditions, viz., solid, liquid and gaseous, the samecannot be brought within the ambit of the word “mineral” and in suchcircumstances, Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportationand Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011, cannot be madeapplicable to the petitioner, who is only transporting crushed dust, which is, according to him, not a mineral. It is his further contentionthat the new Rules, cannot be applicable to dust, which is according tohim, is only a waste product, in the process of crushing and that, thereis no need to register under Rule 4 of the abovesaid Rules, 2011. It isalso his contention that operating stockyard and imposition of acondition under the rules, can be made only with reference to minerals, purchased from the quarry site and no prohibition can be imposed inrespect of a by-product.

13. The definition of “minerals” as per Section 3(a) of the Minesand Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, include, all minerals, except mineral oils and “minor mineral” means,

building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand other than sand used for prescribedpurposes, and any other mineral which the Central Government may, bynotification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a minor mineral.

Though the petitioner has contended that mineral can only be in threephysical forms, viz., solid, liquid and gaseous, the same cannot becountenanced for the reason that the definitions of "mineral" and "minormineral", do not include only gas and petroleum. Even as per theaverments and the submissions of the petitioner, crusher dust is a by-product of rough stones. 14. If jelly stones in different sizes, are by-products of roughstones, broken into different sizes, falling within the definition ofminor minerals, as per Section 3(e) of the Mines and Minerals(Development and Regulation) Act, the crusher dust is also a by-product.

Rule 12 of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules, permits thepublic to quarry free of charge for bona fide domestic or agriculturalpurposes, sand, earth or silt from the beds of tanks under the Control ofthe Public Works Department or Revenue Department, which are notified bythe Collector under the above Rule, without obtaining permits forquarrying, provided that the dwelling place or agricultural land of theperson concerned and the quarrying place shall be in the same revenuevillage or in the adjoining revenue village. Quarrying on removal ofminerals for other than bona fide domestic or agricultural purposes shallbe subject to the previous permission being obtained from the DistrictCollector concerned and to the payment of seigniorage fee for thequantity of the mineral sought to be removed at the rates specified fromtime to time, in Appendix-II to the said Rules, removal of mineral fromthe lands shall be subject to the restrictions contained in sub-Rule (2)of Rule 12 of the abovesaid Rules.

15. Thus, it is evident that even if Public are allowed to quarrysand or silt or earth from the tank beds, under the control of the PublicWorks Department or Revenue Department, notified by the Collector, the https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 5purpose should be only for bona fide domestic or agricultural purpose andfor all other purposes, prior permission has to be obtained from the District Collector concerned, on payment of seigniorage fee. Inferencefrom the above is that quarrying and transportation of mineral forcommercial purposes, cannot be done without prior permission and it isregulated under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral ConcessionRules. 16. Though the petitioner has contended that the crusher dust isonly a by-product and not a mineral, it is still in the solid form only, and the contention that it is used for manufacturing hollow block stonesor as a building material, is not disputed.

"Mineral Mineral" means, building stones, which can be in the shape of a brick, jelly stones ofdifferent sizes or can be even dust, used for manufacturing of hollowblock bricks, or used for effective alternative, to fill-in sites, instead of sand, as it is much cheaper than the sand. The definition of“minor mineral” also includes clay, ordinary sand other than sand usedfor the prescribed purposes. 17. In Banarsi Dass Chadha v. Delhi Administration reported in AIR1978 SC 1587 = 1978 (4) SCC 11, the Supreme Court held that the word” mineral” is not a term of art. It is a word of common parlance, capableof a multiplicity of meanings, depending upon the context. It has furtherheld that “Minor Minerals include 'ordinary clay' and 'ordinary sand'also and it is not clear why earch used for bricks should not becomprehended within the meaning of 'any of mineral'. The said judgmentcan be applied to the facts of this case also, as to why crusher dustcannot be brought within the definition of mineral, when it is used formanufacturing hallow bricks, and when crusher dust is marketed.

18. In Chandeswar Prasad v. Sub-Divisional L.R. Officer reported inAIR 1986 Cal 1, the Calcutta High Court, while considering thedefinitions “mineral” and “minor mineral”, has held that, 'brick earth'like ordinary clay or silt or sand, falls within the genus 'mineral' andit has, therefore, been validly notified under the Act, as minor mineral. The Court held that in including the said items in the Act or in thenotification thereunder, the Parliament and the Central Government havenot gone beyond the scope of Entry 54, List I of the Constitution of India. 19. Though crusher dust or stone dust, is not specifically includedin the definition 'Minor Minerals' its genus is certainly from roughstone and when it is used for manufacturing bricks, sold for value, itcannot be said that it would not fall within the definition of minormineral. 20. In D.K.Trivedi and Sons v. State of Gujarat reported in AIR1986 SC 1323, the Apex Court held that the word “minerals” wherever usedin Act 67 of 1957, would include all minerals except mineral oil, unlessthe context otherwise requires, as per the meaning assigned under Section3(a).

Wherever necessary, the Act has drawn distinction between minorminerals and minerals other than minor minerals. 21. In the light of the above decisions, this Court is not inclinedto accept the contention of the petitioner that crusher dust or stone https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 6dust is not a mineral and therefore, no registration is required under Rule 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and Mineral Dealers Rules, 2011, which is extractedhereunder: “4. Grant of Registration and its renewal:- (1) EveryMineral Dealer and any person desirous of being registered as aMineral Dealers under these Rules shall apply to the DistrictCollector concerned through the Deputy Director in triplicate in Form 'A' along with the application fee of Rs.5,000/- (Rupeesfive thousand only) drawn in favour of the District Collector ofthe concerned district by designation.

Separate applicationalong with the said fee shall be submitted for each stockyard. (2) On receipt of the application under sub-rule (1), the Deputy Director shall acknowledge the receipt immediately in Form 'B' and the acknowledgement shall be sent to theapplicant.” 22. As per Rule 2(xv) of the Rules, 2011, a “Mineral Dealer” meansany person who carries on the business of buying, selling, storing, supplying, transporting, distributing or delivering for sale of mineralor its products and includes. When the abovesaid rule speaks of variousactivities, such as, by selling of minerals and its products, thepetitioner, who claims to own a business establishment, in the name andstyle of "Pradeep Visu Agency", running business in the commodities, like, Blue Metal, Jelly Dust, Sand, Bricks, Hollow Blocks, Metal Chipsand Casuarinas Poles, cannot be said that he will not come under thedefinition of “mineral dealer”, who is bound to register himself under Section 4 of the abovesaid Rules, 2011.23.Section 15 deals with the Power of the State Governments tomake rules in respect of minor minerals and Sub-Sections (1) and (1-A)of the said Section reads as follows: “15.

Power of the State Governments to make rules in respect ofminor minerals:- (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, may rules for regulating the grant of quarry leases, mining leases or other mineral concessions in respect of minor mineralsand for purposes connected therewith. (1-A) In particular and without prejudice to thegenerality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide forall or any of the following matters, namely:-(a) the person by whom and the manner in which, applications for quarry leases, mining leases or other minealconcessions may be made and the fees to be paid therefor:-(b) the time within which, and the form in which, acknowledgement of the receipt of any such applications may besent; (c) the matters which may be considered whereapplications in respect of the same land are received withinthe same day. (d) the terms on which, and the conditions subject towhich and the authority by which quarry leases, mining leasesor other mineral concessions may be granted or renewed; (e) the procedure for obtaining quarry leases, miningleases or other mineral concessions; (f) the facilities to be afforded by holders of quarry https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 7leases, mining leases or other mineral concessions to personsdeputed by the Government for the purpose of undertakingresearch or training in matters relating to mining operations; (g) the fixing and collection of rent, royalty, fees, dead rent, fines or other charges and the time within whichand the manner in which these shall be payable; (h) the manner in which rights of third parties may beprotected (whether by way of payment of compensation orotherwise) in cases where any party is prejudicially affectedby reason of any prospecting or mining operations.

(i) the manner in which rehabilitation of flora andother vegetation such as trees, shrubs and the like destroyedby reason of any quarrying or mining operations shall be madein the same area or in any other area selected by the StateGovernment (whether by way of reimbursement of the cost ofrehabilitation or otherwise) by the person holding thequarrying or mining lease; (j) the manner in which and the conditions subject towhich, a quarry lease, mining lease or other mineralconcession may be transferred; (k) the construction, maintenance and the use of roads, power transmission lines, tramways, railways, aerial ropeways, pipelines and the making of passage for water for miningpurposes on any land comprised in a quarry or mining lease orother mineral concession; (l) the form of registers to be maintained under this Act; (m) the reports and statements to be submitted byholders of quarry or mining leases or other mineal concessionsand the authority to which such reports and statements shallbe submitted; (n) the person within which and the manner in which andthe authority to which applications for revision of any otherpassed by any authority under these rules may be made, thefees to be paid therefor, and the powers of the revisionalauthority; and(o) any another matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed.

"24. Section 23(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act empowers the Statement to make rules for preventingillegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and the same isextracted hereunder: “(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and for the purposesconnected therewith.” 25. The definitions given in Section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Preventionof Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage of Minerals and MineralDealers Rules, 2011, are extracted hereunder: “(ii) “Authorised Officer” means the District Collectorof the district concerned or such other officer as may beauthorised by the Government. https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 8(xi) “Rules” means all Rules framed under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.(xiii) “Minerals” means all minerals and minor mineralsexcept sand.

(xvi) “Stockyard” means a place where the minerals arestored or stocked outside the lease area. (xvii) “Transport permit” means a permit issued by thepermit issuing officer. (xviii) “Transit pass” means a pass issued by theconcerned Deputy Director for lawful transportation of anymineral by a carrier from the place of stockyard or from thelease area by the registree under the Rules. (xix) all other words and expressions used in these Rulesbut not defined shall have the meaning respectively assigned tothem in the Act or Rules made thereunder.” 26. Section 3 of the abovesaid Rules deals with prohibition oftransportation of mineral and the said rule is extracted hereunder: “(1) No person shall transport or cause to be transportedany mineral by any carrier from the place of raising or from theplace of stockyard or from one place to another without having avalid transit pass. (2) No person other than the mineral dealer shall store orcause to be stored any mineral at any place for purposes of saleor consumption.

(3) No mineral dealer shall store any mineral other thanthe place specified in the registration certificate granted underthese Rules: Provided that no person purchasing and transportingminerals for use or consumption by himself and such use orconsumption does not involve any commercial activity and anyholder of a mining lease or a quarry lease in respect of theminerals for which he holds a lease, shall not be required toregister himself as a dealer.” 27. Section 6 speaks about transport permit and transit pass and itreads as follows: “(1) No person shall transport or otherwise remove orcarry away any mineral from any place without obtaining atransit pass from the Deputy Director. Person desiring suchpasses should file an application before the Deputy Directorin Form 'F' duly specifying all the particulars prescribedtherein. (2) The application shall be accompanied by a copy ofthe permit showing payment of royalty/seigniorage on suchmineral or other adequate proof of such payment.

(3) On receipt of an application under sub-rule (1), the Deputy Director may grant transit pass in Form 'F' for suchperiod and subject to such terms and conditions as may beimposed by him or may refuse to grant such transit pass forthe reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to theapplicant. (4) Any person who transports the minerals and who is https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 9required to carry transit shall produce pass on demand to theauthorised officer or any officer or authority who has beenempowered under sub-section (4), Section 21 of the Act.” 28. The conditions for grant of registration certificate in Form'D' are set out in Rule 7 and the same is extracted hereunder: “(i) All traders in minerals should be registeredas dealers. However, in the case of Mineral Dealers whodeal exclusively with imported minerals of a variety notavailable in Tamil Nadu, no inspection of the Unitsoutside the State from which the minerals are securedwill be done.

The mineral traders however should filequarterly statement of their minerals imported into the State and produce proof of payment of any entry tax orother tax leviable by the State of Tamil Nadu whenevercalled upon to do so. (ii) The grantee of registration shall maintainthe details of minerals purchased and stocked anddetails of mineral transported from the stockyard andthe balance of mineral available in the stockyard in Form 'E'. If the grantee of registration having morethan one stockyard, each stockyard shall be registeredseparately and Form 'E' shall be maintained separatelyfor each stockyard. The stockyards are liable forverification at any time by the authority or authorisedofficer. (iii) The grantee of registration shall allow anyauthorised officer at any time to inspect the stockyard, factories to verify the stock of ores or minerals andtake sample of the abstract from the records maintainedby him.

(iv) Every grantee of registration shall allow the Competent Authority or the authorised officer to enterand inspect the stockyard including the premises of thefactories where such mineral is processed and he mayweigh, measure or take mesurements of the stocks of theminerals at such stockyard or factory. (v) All Officers who have been authorised under Section 24 of the Act are empowered to search any placein which there is a reason to believe that offence isbeing committed and to seize any stock of minerals inrespect of which the office has been or is beingcommitted. (vi) The District Collector is empowered to issueany orders for inspections to be caused and for properimplementation of the Act and the Rules within thejurisdiction of the concerned district. If any personis found to keep the mineral in the place other than instockyard or if any grantee of registration is found tocommit any offence of contravene any of the provisionsof the Act or Rules including any discrepancies noted in Form 'E' in respect of any stockyard, the DistrictCollector shall take suitable action.” https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 10 THE SCHEDULEFORM - A[See rule 4(1).](Application for Registration/renewal)1 Name of applicant (in full)2 Full address3 Profession4 Father’s name in full(In case of firm, give names and addresses ofpartners and person holding power of attorneyto act on behalf of the firm).5 Specific place of stock or storage of mineral / (i) Survey No. :place of processing mineral (ii) Village :(iii) Taluk :(iv) District :(v) Extent :(vi) Area of the stock or storage points: (vii) Specific boundaries of stock orstorage point on four sides:6 Financial status with details of Person i.e.,property annual payment of Income Tax and anyother relevant evidence regarding financial status7 Specific purpose for which Registration is appliedfor (Processing / Storing / Selling /Trading)8 Name of Mineral / Ore for which Registrationis required9 Approximate quantity proposed to be stored /processed /trade /sold10 Evidence of payment of application fee Challan No. : Date: Amount :Paid at :11 Name and address of persons / firms from whomthe Mineral / Ores will be purchased / Procured12 Period for which Registration is required13 In case of renewal, the number and date oforiginal Registration14 Detail of Income Tax / Sales Tax ClearanceCertificate15 Any other information.

DeclarationI/We hereby declare that I/We have read and understood all the provisionsof the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal mining, transportation andstorage of minerals and mineral dealers Rules, 2010 and the conditions ofthe Registration made there under and I/We agree to abide by the same. Place: Date : Signature of Applicant. https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 11FORM-B[see rule 4(2).](Acknowledgement of receipt of application for Registration)Received ........................... copies of applications for grant ofregistration certificate for storing / selling/ transportation ofmineral.........................(Name of Mineral /Ore) Ore /Mineral .......... ........................ from...... .......... ................. Shri/ Smt......................... Resident of .................................... P.O. .................................P.S.............................District.........................todaywith the following enclosures: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) Signature of the Assistant Director/ Deputy Director of Geology and Mining.

Place: Date :FORM-C[See rule 5(1).](Register of Applications for Grant of Registration and its Renewal)Sl.No. Date of receipt Name of Address of Name of of application. applicant. applicant. mineral/Ores. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)Place of Processing Date of order of Brief orders on Date of expiry/Storing/Selling/ grant/refusal. appeal if any. of registration,/Trading. if granted. (6) (7) (8) (9) Date of receipt of Date of grant of renewal. Period of renewal. Remarks.application for renewal. (10)11) (12) (13)FORM-D[See rule 5(2).]Certificate of registration for transportation or Storage of Mineralsunder the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegalmining, transportation and storage of minerals and mineral dealers Rules,2010. https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 12In exercise of the powers conferred by rule 5(2) of the Tamil NaduPrevention of Illegal Mining, Regulation of Transportation and Storage of Minerals Rules, 2010, District Collector of.................. Districtthis registration is hereby grant to Thiru/ Tmt/Tvl/............................. ...................... (with address)for the purpose of storing / processing / consumingof ........................................................... (name ofthe mineral to be specified here) at SurveyNo...........; ................ village ................Taluk ...............District, subject to the conditions stipulated in“Tamil Nadu Prevention of Illegal Mining and Transportation, Storage and Mineral dealers Rules, 2010.” This Registration is valid from....... to..........(dates to be specified)Place: Date :Seal : District Collector.FORM-E[see rule 7(ii).](Account of ores/minerals to be maintained by the grantee of registration)

Name of the grantee of registration No. ..2 Full Address ..3 No. and date of registration ..4 Period of Registration ..5 Name of Mineral & Ore ..6 Name of the person registered ..7 Postal Address of the Factory/person ..registered8 Designation of the Officer of the ..Department of Geology and MiningMonth and Year. Date. Opening balance of Mineral. Quantity of Mineral.1 2 34Quantity of Mineral Quantity of Mineral Closing balance Remarks.transported and available after transport of Mineral. permitted.to be removed. 5 6 7 8 https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 13FORM-F[See rule 6 (1).]TRANSIT PASSTransit Pass Book No............................Transit Pass/SerialNo...........................To be filled by the Deputy Director of Geology and Mining in the DistrictConcerned]1 Name and address of person registered Registration No.: under this rule (with registration No.)2 Place from which mineral is to be transported.

The District Collector, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli.

The Assistant Director, Department of Geology and Mining, G.F.201, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli.

The Superintendent of Police, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli District.W.P.(MD)No.7509 of 2011M.P.(MD)No.1 of 2011 Dated:06.09.201115P/6CRPB 09.09.2011