(1)Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where immediately before the date of vesting of the estate or tenure there is a subsisting lease of mines or minerals comprised in the estate or tenure or any part thereof, the whole or that part of the estate or tenure comprised in such lease shall, with effect from the date of vesting, be deemed to have been leased by the State Government to the holder of the said subsisting lease for the remainder of the term of that lease, and such holder shall be entitled to retain possession of the lease hold property.(2)The terms and conditions of the said lease by the State Government shall mutatis mutandis be the same as the terms and conditions of the subsisting lease referred to in sub-section (1), but with the additional condition that, if in the opinion of the State Government the holder of the lease had not, [before the coming into force of the Bihar Land Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance, 1965 (Bihar Ordinance 1 of 1965, done any prospecting or development work in the area or in any part of the area comprised in the lease, the State Government shall be entitled at any time after the coming into force of the said Ordinance to determine the lease in regard to the whole or part of such area, as the case may be, after giving three months' notice in writing but in determining the lease in regard to the part of such area the State Government shall have regard to the reasons for the failure to do any prospecting or development work in such part and to the requirements for the future development of the remaining part but no such action shall be taken in respect of leases of minerals specified in the First Schedule to the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 67 of 1957) except with the previous consent of the Central Government] [Substituted by Act 6 of 1965.]:Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to prevent any modifications being made in the terms and conditions of the said lease in accordance with the provisions of any Central Act for the time being in force regulating the modification of existing mining leases:[Provided further that the terms and conditions of the said lease in regard to minor minerals as defined in the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 (Act 67 of 1957). shall, in so far as they are inconsistent with the rules made by the State Government under Section 15 of that Act, stand substituted by the corresponding terms and conditions prescribed by those Rules and if further ascertainment and settlement of the terms will become necessary, then necessary proceedings for that purpose shall be undertaken by the Collector.] [Inserted by Act 4 of 1965.](3)The holder of any such lease of mines and minerals as is referred to in sub-section (1) shall not be entitled to claim any damages from the outgoing proprietor or tenure-holder on the ground that the terms of the lease executed by such proprietor or tenure-holder in respect of the said mines and minerals have become incapable of fulfilment by the operations of this Act.(4)[ The rent and royalty on account of mines or minerals payable to the State Government shall always by deemed to be the first charge on the property whether or not it is so specified in the document of lease held by the lessee] [Substituted by Act 4 of 1965.].
