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This writ petition has been filed with a prayer to quash auction notice/advertisement No.752 dated 22.03.2012 published by the Tahasildar, Bolangir under Annexure-7 in respect of Plot No.79/B-1, Holding No.14 of Mouza: Basupali. Further prayer is made to grant the lease of the stone quarry in question to the petitioner on long term basis by relaxing Rule 35 of the Orissa Minor Minerals Concession Rules, 2004 (for short 'OMMC Rules').

2. Petitioner's case in a nutshell is that as per provision of Rule 35 of OMMC Rules the sairat source, i.e., the stone quarry pertaining to Plot No.79/B-1, Holding No.14 of Mouza: Basupali, measuring Ac.5.00 decimals was put to public auction for the year 2010-11 by fixing upset price as per Rule 37. The auction was conducted thrice, i.e., on 24.04.2010, 27.04.2010 and 30.04.2010 but no bidder participated in the auction. While the matter stood thus, the petitioner came forward for negotiation and filed an application in the requisite format along with necessary documents before the Tahasildar, Bolangir praying for grant of the lease in favour of the petitioner on long term basis in respect of the said sairat. The said application of the petitioner was registered as Sairat Misc. Case No.96/2010 by the Tahasildar, Bolangir. Tahasildar, Bolangir sent the necessary case record to Collector, Bolangir for obtaining necessary permission/approval from Government by relaxing Rule 35 of Rules 2004. Tahasildar, Bolangir vide letter No.2943 dated 14.09.2010 requested the Collector, Bolangir to take necessary action to lease out the aforesaid stone quarry to the petitioner. Collector, Bolangir vide letter dated 19.01.2011 requested opposite party No.1-Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Odisha, to consider the case of the petitioner in view of letter No.29304/RDM dated 26.07.2010 requiring relaxation of Rule 35 of OMMC Rules in order to lease out the Stone quarry for a long term to the petitioner as no bidder took part in public auction. In the said letter, the Collector has also mentioned that in such action Government will fetch revenue. Opposite party No.1 vide letter dated 26.07.2010 communicated to all Collectors of the State about relaxation of Rule 35 of OMMC Rules by the Government in cases quarry has been granted by way of lease. While the decision to lease out the stone quarry in question by relaxing Rule 35 is pending before opposite party No.1, Tahasildar, Bolangir has again come up with auction Notice/Advertisement No.752 dated 22.03.2012 to auction the quarry in question on 25.04.2012 and in case of failure the same shall be conducted 28.04.2012 and 30.04.2012. Hence, the present Writ petition.

5. On the rival contentions, the question falls for consideration by this Court is whether the Tahasildar, Bolangir is justified in floating the advertisement No.752 dated 22.03.2012 for putting the stone quarry pertaining to Plot No.79/B-1, Holding No.14 of Mouza: Basupali in the district of Bolangir to public auction.

6. To deal with the above question, it is necessary to extract Rule 35 of OMMC Rules, 2004 which reads thus:-

"35. Auction of minor minerals: Notwithstanding anything mentioned in the rules, sources of minor minerals specified in Item I(i) of Schedule III shall be sold or disposed of by public auction on such terms and conditions as may be specified in the auction sale notice by the competent authority."

7. It is not in dispute that the sairat, stone quarry is in item No.(i) of Schedule III; therefore, such sairat can only be disposed of by public auction. Apart from the above, Rule 35 of OMMC Rules starts with a non- obstante clause mentioned in Rule 35. Hence, provision of Rule 35 overrides other provisions of OMMC Rules.

8. Chapter-VI of the OMMC Rules contains the detailed procedure with regard to auction of Sairats. Moreover, considering the nature of the Sairat, Rule 35 provides that minerals specified in Item 1(i) of Schedule-III are to be disposed of by public auction. The minor minerals specified in item 1(i) of Schedule-III are:- Ordinary clay, silt, rehmatti, ordinary sand other than used for industrial and prescribed purposes, brick-earth, ordinary earth, moorum, laterite slabs, ordinary boulders, road metals including ballasts, chips, bajri and rock fines generated from stone crushers, gravels of ordinary stones and river shingles and pebbles.

9. Chapter-VI of the OMMC Rules is framed to get the best price from leasing out different sairats which are owned by the Government. Generation of maximum revenue with a view to secure maximum benefit to the community is in the larger public interest.

10. Law is well settled that no person has any right to the grant of renewal of the Government property.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of State of Tamil Nadu Vs. M/s Hind Stone etc. etc., (supra), held that no one has a vested right to the grant or renewal of a lease and none can claim a vested right to have an application for the grant or renewal of a lease dealt with in a particular way, by applying particular provisions. In the absence of any vested right in anyone, an application for lease has necessarily to be dealt with according to the rules in force on the date of the disposal of the application despite the fact that there is a long delay since the making of the application.