Topic
The Odisha High Court ordered the state to execute OCL Iron & Steels Ltd.’s mining lease within eight weeks, finding that the selective refusal breached Article 14’s equality guarantee. This mandates uniform treatment for all applicants under the MMDR Act, affecting pending lease approvals across the state.
Karnataka High Court rules that Rule 8A of the KMMC Amendment Rules, 2016, which grants a 20-year lease extension, does not apply retroactively to leases expired before its effective date. The court upholds the validity of a one-year extension under the repealed Rule 21(2A) but prohibits quarrying on recorded forest land, impacting leaseholders and state mineral concession policies.
The Karnataka High Court ruled that quarry lease applicants under Rule 3-F of the KMMC Rules, 1994, are not required to obtain individual No Objection Certificates (NOCs). Instead, the District Task Force must secure all necessary clearances during its meeting, streamlining the approval process and reducing bureaucratic hurdles for applicants.