Section 2(1) in Himachal Pradesh Minor Minerals (Concession) and Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2015
(1)In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-(a)"Act" means the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957;(b)"assessee" means a Mineral Concession Holder and includes a person who raises any minor mineral from any land without permission from the Department;(c)"Assessing Authority" means a Mining Officer and includes any other authorized officer to make assessment under these rules;(d)"assessment year" means a period of twelve months commencing on the first day of April, every year;(e)"auction" means a system of competitive bidding by way of open auction, electronic auction (e-auction) including e-tenders.(f)"Authorised Officer" means any person authorized to perform such functions under these rules and for such area as specified in the Fourth Schedule; and includes any other official to carry out such functions as may be specified by the Competent Authority;(g)"Competitive bids" means an amount offered in an open auction or in tender process by the participants;(h)"Competent Authority" means such authority as the Government may declare to be the Competent Authority for the purpose of these rules;(i)"contract" means a contract given on behalf of the Government to quarry, win, work and carry away any mineral specified therein through auction or tender for certain specified areas, notified by the Director;(j)"contractor" means a person holding a mining contract under these rules;(k)"contract money" means amount to be paid by the contractor to the Department for raising/winning the mineral from the area allotted on contract;(l)"dead rent" means the minimum amount payable in a year by a person to whom a mining lease is granted under these rules irrespective of the fact whether such mining lease is operated or not.(m)"dealer" means any person who carries on business of buying, selling, supplying, distributing or delivering for sale of minerals and mineral products and includes any person,-(i)who buys and processes mineral or minerals products for sale;(ii)involved in excavation business, buying and storing the mineral more than 50 metric tonnes; and(iii)who holds a mining lease, contract or permit granted under the Mineral Concession Rule, 1960 or under these rules.(n)"Department" means Department of Industries, Himachal Pradesh;(o)"Director" means Director of Industries, Himachal Pradesh;(p)"excavation" means digging/collection of minerals on surface/sub-surface for the purpose of winning of minerals from any land;(q)"financial assurance" means the security furnished by the holder of mining lease/contract/permit/permission to the Director so as to indemnify the authorities against the reclamation and rehabilitation cost;(r)"form" means form appended to these rules;(s)"Government" means the Government of Himachal Pradesh;(t)"Gram Sabha" or "Sabha" shall have the meaning assigned to it under clause (16) of section 2 of Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994;(u)"Gram Panchayat" shall have the meaning assigned to it under clause (15) of section 2 of Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994;(v)"sanction order" means order for grant of mining lease after fulfillment of conditions/stipulated in the Letter of Intent;(w)"lessee" when used in relation to a mine means a person to whom the lease has been granted by the Government, his transferee or assignee and in case of a mine the business whereof is being carried on by a liquidator or receiver, such liquidator or receiver and in case of a mine owned by a Company, the business whereof is being carried on by a managing agent, such "Managing Agent".(x)"local authority" means the Deputy Commissioner of the District or any other officer authorized by the State Government to exercise the powers of local authority for the purpose of these rules;(y)"Letter of Intent (LOI)" means approval of Competent Authority in principle for grant of mineral concession in a precise area containing conditions for submission of requisite documents/clearances such as approved mining plan, environmental and forest clearances etc. required for grant of mineral concession;(z)"mineral concession" means mining lease or mining contract or permit or any other permission in respect of minor mineral;(za)mining dues' means any of the dues on account of royalty, dead rent, contract money, amount payable towards the Mines and Minerals Development, Restoration and Rehabilitation fund, interest on delayed payments of any fees or any other sum due to the Government in respect of mineral concession granted under these rules;(zb)"mineral products" means minerals in any raw or processed form, bricks, dressed stone, rock aggregates grit, chips, ballast, stone dust, sand, and/or any product to be prepared from minerals without involving any chemical changes;(zc)"minor mineral" means building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand other than sand used for prescribed purposes, boulder, shingle, chalcedony pebbles used for ball mill purposes only, limeshell, kankar and limestone used in kilns for manufacture of lime used as building material, murrum, brick-earth, ordinary earth, fuller's earth bentonite, road metal, rehmatti, slate and shale when used for building material, granite, quartzite and sand stone when used for purposes of construction/building or for making road metal and household utensils, quartzite pebbles used for ball mill purposes or filling for bore wells or for decoration purposes in buildings and any other mineral which the Central Government may, by notification in official Gazette, declare to be a minor mineral under clause (e) of section 3 of the Act;(zd)"mining approach road/haulage road" means a stretch of road existing in the mining area constructed mainly for mine development and transportation of mineral;(ze)"mining plan" means a mining plan prepared under these rules and duly approved by the Competent Authority for the scientific development of mine;(zf)"Mining Officer" means an Officer appointed by the Government to ensure enforcement of minerals rules and regulations at district level, holding charge of one or more districts;(zg)"Presiding Officer" means the Director or any other officer authorised by him for holding auction/calling tenders for contracts;(zh)"royalty" means amount payable to Government in respect of ore/mineral excavated from any land prescribed in the Second Schedule;(zi)"Schedule" means a Schedule appended to these rules;(zj)"Scheduled areas" means the Scheduled areas as referred to in clause (1) of article 244 of the Constitution of India;(zk)"State Geologist" means State Geologist for the State of Himachal Pradesh;(zl)"stack-yard or sale depot" means any place where a mineral or its products are stored and staked in any raw or processed form for commercial purposes;(zm)"Stone Crusher" means Stone Crusher to be registered under these rules and shall include a machine which use metal surface to break rock/ mineral or compress material to reduce particle size for the manufacturing of grit/bajri or further reducing to the finer size to be used as a raw material for manufacturing reinforced or pre-stressed cement concrete products or building material or for construction purpose, except pulverizing or grinding and crushing of rock for reducing size in a Cement Plant for the production of clinker/cement; and converting rock fragments into sand without using conveyor belts.(zn)"transit pass" means a document issued by the Mining Officer or any other authorized officer to the mineral concession holder or dealer for lawful dispatch and transportation of any mineral(s) raised; and(zo)"un-authorised mining" means any mining operation undertaken without having valid mineral concession or permission granted by the Government or person authorized in this behalf.
