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"8-C Lease of quarries in respect of black granite to Government Corporation, etc. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in these rules, on and from 7th December, 1977 no lease for quarrying black granite shall be granted to private persons.

(2) The State Government themselves may engage in quarrying black granite or grant leases for quarrying black granite in favour of any corporation wholly owned by the State Government.

Rivers, Forests, Minerals and such other resources constitute a nation's natural wealth. These resources are not to be frittered away and exhausted by any one generation. Every generation owes a duty to all succeeding generations to develop and conserve the natural resources of the nation in the best possible way. It is in the interest of mankind. It is in the interest of the Nation. It is recognised by Parliament. Parliament has declared that it is expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its control the regulation of mines and the development of minerals. It has enacted the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957. We have already referred to its salient provisions. S. 18, we have noticed, casts a special duty on the Central Government to take necessary steps for the conservation and development of minerals in India. S. 17 authorises the Central Government itself to undertake prospecting or mining operations in any area not already held under any prospecting licence or mining lease. S.4A empowers the State Government on the request of the Central Government, in the case of minerals other than minor minerals, to prematurely terminate existing mining leases and grant fresh leases in favour of a Government Company or Corporation owned or controlled by Government, if it is expedient in the interest of regulation of mines and mineral development to do so. In the case of minor minerals, the State Government is similarly empowered, after consultation with the Central Government. The public interest which induced Parliament to make the declaration contained in S. 2 of the Mines & Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957. has naturally to be the paramount consideration in all matters concerning the regulation of mines and the development of minerals. Parliament's policy is clearly discernible from the provisions of the Act. It is the conservation and the prudent and discriminating exploitation of minerals, with a view to secure maximum benefit to the community. There are clear sign posts to lead and guide the subordinate legislating authority in the matter of the making of rules. Viewed in the light shed by the other provisions of the Act, particularly sections 4A, 17 and 18 it cannot be said that the rule making authority under S. 15 has exceeded its powers in banning leases for quarrying black granite in favour of private parties and in stipulating that the State Government themselves may engage in quarrying black granite or grant leases for quarrying black granite in favour of any corporation wholly owned by the State Government. To view such a rule made by the Subordinate legislating body as a rule made to benefit itself merely because the State Government happens to be the subordinate legislating body, is, but, to take too narrow a view of the functions of that body. The reasons that prompted the State Government to make Rule 8-C were explained at great length in the common counter affidavit filed on behalf of the State Government before the High Court. We find no good reason for not accepting the statements made in the counter affidavit. It was said there:

"I submit that the leases for black granite are governed by the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules 1959 under which originally there was scope for auctioning of quarries of minor minerals. In amendment issued in the G.O. dated 6-12-1972. under Rule 8-A it was indicated that the Collector may sanction leases in favour of applicants who are having an industrial programme to utilise the minerals in their own industry. This provision is applicable to all minerals including black granites. However, it was found that there were several cases where lessees who obtained the black granite areas on lease by auction were not quarrying in a systematic and planned manner taking into consideration the welfare and safety measures of the workers as well as the conservation of minerals. Even after the introduction of the amendment under Rule 8-A in most cases, the industry set up was of a flimsy nature more to circumvent the rule than to really introduce industry including mechanised cutting and polishing. The lessees were also interested only in obtaining the maximum profit in the shortest period of time without taking into consideration the proper mining and development of the mineral. There was also considerable wastage of new materials due to wasteful mining. Therefore, Government issued a further amendment as Rule 8-B wherein the competent authority to grant leases in respect of the quarrying black granite was transferred from the Collector to the State Government level. They also prescribed a standard form and an application fee to be paid with the application. The amendment states that the Director of Industries and Commerce shall technically scrutinise the industrial programme given by the applicant while forwarding the same to Government. At the same time, in the G.O. issued along with amendment, it was stated that if any of the State Government Organisations like Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation Limited, Tamil Nadu small Industries Development Corporation Limited, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited is interested to obtain a lease for black granite in a particular area, preference will be given to Government undertaking over other private entrepreneurs for granting the leases applied for by them. However, in spite of these amendments to regulate the grant of mining lease, there were a large number of lessees (exceeding 140), who were engaged in mining without proper technical guidance or safety measures etc. for the workers. These lessees made a strong representation to the then Government in 1976 expressing that though they had given assurance to set up industries to use the granites they were not able to do so far various reasons. They also represented that they should be allowed to export the raw blocks of black granites. Therefore, Government had issued a Government Order dated 15-2-1977 relating to relaxation of the ban of export of raw blocks and provision for setting up a polishing or finishing unit was not made a pre- requisite. They have also stated that the terms and conditions for the existing losses would remain in force. However, on an examination of the performance of the lessees over the past several years, it has been found that excepting in a very few cases, none of the lessees had set up proper industries or developed systematic mining of the quarries. The exports continue to be mainly on the raw black granite materials and not out and polished slabs. A large number of the leases were not operating either due to speculation or lack of finance from the lessees. Therefore, Government decided that there should be no further grant of lease to private entrepreneurs for black granite. This was mentioned in G.O.Ms. No. 1312 Industries dated 2-12- 1977.

In the view that we have taken on the several questions argued before us all the appeals arising out of applications for the grant or renewal of leases for quarrying black granite in Government lands are allowed and the Writ Petitions filed in the High Court are dismissed. Special leave is granted in cases in which leave had not been previously granted. The appeals are allowed and disposed of in the same manner.

There are, however, a few appeals in which the applications were not for the grant or renewal of leases to quarry black granite in Government lands but were for permission to quarry black granite in Patta lands in which the right to minerals belonged to the applicants- private owners themselves. Apart from the fact that Rule 8C occurs in a group of Rules in Section II, which bears the head "Government lands in which the minerals belong to the Government" while the rules relating to lands in which the right to minerals belongs to private owners are dealt with in Section III. The language of Rule 8C is clear that it cannot have any application to lands in which the right to minerals belongs to the applicants themselves. Rule 8C is only concerned with leases for quarrying black granite and it cannot, therefore, have any application to cases where no lease is sought from the Government. In the case of lands in which the right to minerals belongs to private owners and those owners seek permission to quarry black granite the applications will have to be dealt with under the relevant rules in Sec. III of the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concession Rules. Rule 8C, it may be noted, does not impose a general ban on quarrying black granite but only imposes a bar on the grant of leases of quarrying black granite. Appeals and Special Leave Petitions which arise out of applications for the grant of permission to quarry black granite in the Patta lands belonging to the applicants themselves, have therefore, to be dismissed. The result is, Special Leave Petition Nos. 9257, 9259, 9260, 9271, 9273 to 9282 and 9284 of 1980 are dismissed and Special Leave Petition Nos 9234 to 9248, 9250 to 9256, 9258, 9261 to 9270,9272,9283,9285,9286,9288,9289 and 9290 of 1980 are granted and Appeals allowed. Civil Appeal Nos. 2602 to 2604 of 1980 are allowed. There will be no order as to costs.