Section 4 in Gujarat Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2017
4. Grant of quarry lease.
(1)A quarry lease shall be granted by the Government through an electronic auction process as prescribed herein. Any person submitting a bid for grant of a quarry lease shall be required to fulfil the eligibility conditions prescribed in Schedule II. The terms and conditions specified in Schedule II shall be used only for the purposes of determination of eligibility of a bidder and the successful bidder shall be decided solely on the basis of financial bids submitted by the eligible bidders.(2)The following shall be the pre-requisites for conduct of an auction for grant of a quarry lease, namely:(a)evidence of mineral resources shall have been established in the proposed quarry lease area in accordance with the parameters prescribed in Schedule I;(b)the quarry lease area shall be identified and demarcated using differential global positioning system and shall have a topographic and geological map prepared using total station. The extent of the area so demarcated shall include the area required for all activities falling under the definition of a 'mine' as defined in clause (j) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Mines Act 1952 (35 of 1952), including non-mineralised area;(c)the quarry lease area so demarcated shall classified into forest land, land owned by the Government and land not owned by the Government and any Scheduled Area comprised therein shall also be identified;(d)an electronic auction portal which meets the minimum technical and security requirements as specified in the guidelines for compliance to quality requirements of e-Procurement Systems issued by the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification Directorate, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India or any other certification/guidelines as specified by the Government shall have been established;(e)the price per metric tonne of the mineral(s) shall have been published by the Government at least once in the twelve months immediately preceding the auction;(f)the Government shall provide details of the areas over which a quarry lease is proposed to be granted in the following manner, namely:(i)in two daily newspapers circulating in such area, of which one shall be in the regional language;(ii)in the local language in the Panchayat, Municipality or Municipal Corporation, as the case may be and in the offices of the District Collector, the Sub-divisional Magistrate and the Tehsil, as applicable;(iii)on the website of the Government;(iv)on the electronic auction portal; and(g)if the area over which a quarry lease is proposed to be granted comprises of a Scheduled Area, the prior approval of the gram sabha for such grant shall have been obtained.(3)In case of an auction with respect to a Scheduled Area, the Government may, subject to the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and the provisions of the Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, as applicable, identify the areas, excluding areas where a mineral concession is subsisting, in which evidence of mineral resources has been established in accordance with the parameters prescribed in Schedule I. The following conditions would apply to quarry leases granted through an auction in accordance with this Chapter in such identified areas:(a)A quarry lease in the Scheduled Area identified pursuant to this sub-rule shall:(i)be granted only to a bidder who belongs to a scheduled tribe and is an inhabitant of the Scheduled Area; and(ii)only be transferable to a person who belongs to a scheduled tribe and is an inhabitant of the Scheduled Area.(4)The Government may, if it considers expedient, prescribe differential terms including with respect to payment and eligibility requirements for quarry leases granted pursuant to auctions conducted in Scheduled Areas identified pursuant to sub-rule (3).(5)If one attempt to auction a quarry lease pursuant to sub-rule (3) and sub-rule(4)do not result in the grant of a quarry lease, then the Government shall conduct an auction in which persons other than those specified in clause (a) of sub-rule (3) may also participate, subject to the other conditions specified in these rules. For the purposes of this sub-rule:(a)the auction subsequent to the first attempt may be for the same area or an enlarged or reduced area, as the Government may deem fit;(b)the differential terms specified pursuant to sub-rule (4) shall not be applicable to such auction; and(c)the quarry lease granted pursuant to such auction shall be transferable to any person in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XI.(6)Restriction to Grant Lease in Certain Areas - No quarry leases for building limestone shall be granted in areas containing more than eighty five per cent CaCO3, except in areas of less than four hectares containing isolated pockets of limestone.
