Abdur Rashid v. The State of Assam and 7 Ors

ORDER

11.12.2024

Heard Mr. S.A. Ahmed, learned counsel for the petitioner, who submits that the petitioner is the owner of land measuring 1 Katha, covered by Dag No.2184 of K.P. Patta No.135, which is located at Revenue Village-Satgaon, Lot No.16, Mouza Beltola, Revenue Circle-Dispur, District-Kamrup(M). The petitioner applied for grant of permission to construct a building on the said plot of land vide Reference No MMSGNA Application Id No. 13792. The petitioner's grievance is that the respondent authorities have insisted on payment of 2% Forest Royalty, on the total cost of the building, before the NOC/permission can be given, as per Government communication dated 02.03.2023, issued by the Joint Page No.# 3/4 Secretary to the Government of Assam, Mines and Minerals Department.

¶2The petitioner's counsel submits that the impugned communication dated

02.03.2023 has already been set aside by this Court in WP(C) No. 4085/2024 and as such, the respondents cannot deny the grant of building permission/NOC on the ground of non-payment of 2% Forest Royalty, as the building is to be constructed on the petitioner's land.

¶3Mr. I Borthakur, learned counsel for the Forest Department, Mr. P. Nayak, learned counsel for the respondent Nos.4, 7 & 8, Mr. G. Bokalial, learned counsel for the respondent Nos.3, 5 & 6 submit that the present case is a covered case in terms of WP(C) 4085/2024 and WP(C) 5049/2024 and the petitioner is not required to pay any Forest Royalty when he is constructing a building on his own land.

¶4The operative portion of para 19 of the judgment and order dated

24.09.2024 passed in WP(C) 4085/2024 is reproduced herein below:- "19. In view of the above analysis, it is therefore the opinion of this Court that the impugned communication dated 02.03.2023 issued by the Joint Secretary to the Government of Assam, Mines and Mineral Department thereby stipulating that the amendments carried out by the Amending Rules would also apply to the private agencies is contrary to the Act of 1957 as well as the Rules of 2013 as amended by the Amending Rules. Accordingly, the impugned communication dated 02.03.2023 is set aside and quashed."

¶5In view of the fact that this case is a covered case and as the impugned Page No.# 4/4 communication dated 02.03.2023 issued by the Joint Secretary to the Government of Assam, Mines and Minerals Department has been set aside, the prayer of the petitioner is allowed. The respondents are accordingly directed not to ask for payment of deposit of 2% Forest Royalty and they should grant the necessary permission/NOC to the petitioner, unless the same is not permitted due to some other reason/s.

¶6The writ petition is accordingly disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010263572024 ooooooo 2024:GAU-AS:12471 ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/6642/2024o ABDURoRASHIDo S/O-oLATEoABDULoJABBAR,oR/O-o5THoBYEoLANE,oPALLITALoROAD,o AMBARI,oSATGAON,oP.O.oUDAYANoVIHAR,oP.S.oSATGAON,oGUWAHATI- 781071,oDIST.oKAMRUP(M),oASSAM VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo7oORS.o REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEo GOVERNMENToOFoASSAM,oFORESToANDoENVIRONMENToDEPARTMENT,o DISPUR,oGUWAHATI-781006. 2:THEoPRINCIPALoCHIEFoCONSERVATORoOFoFORESToANDoHEADoOFo FORESToFORCE oARANYAoBHAWAN oPANJABARI oGHY-781037. 3:THEoPRINCIPALoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oMINESoANDoMINERALSoDEPARTMENT oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-781006. 4:THEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oHOUSINGoANDoURBANoAFFAIRSoDEPARTMENT oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-781006. 5:THEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oMINESoANDoMINERALSoDEPARTMENT oDISPUR oGHY-781006. Page No.# 2/4 6:THE JOINT SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM MINES AND MINERALS DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-781006. 7:THE GUWAHATI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION REPRESENTED BY ITS COMMISSIONER UZANBAZAR GHY-781001. 8:THE GUWAHATI METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (GMDA) REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER BHANGAGARH ASSAM GUWAHATI-781005 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S A AHMED, MR. F A AHMED,A. KHANAM Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, G M D A,SC, GMC BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA