MINERAL CONCESSION RULES, 1960

CHAPTER II

Grant of Reconnaissance Permits

4. Application for reconnaissance permit. – (1) An application for reconnaissance permit shall be made to the State Government in Form ‘A’ through such officer or authority as the State Government may specify in this behalf.

(2)     (a) Every such application shall be accompanied by a non-refundable fee calculated at the rate of five rupees per square kilometre

(b) a valid clearance certificate, in the form prescribed by the State Government for payment of mining dues, such as royalty or dead rent or surface rent payable under the Act or rules made thereunder, from that Government or any officer or authority authorised by that Government in this behalf;

Provided that where a person has furnished an affidavit to the satisfaction of the State Government stating that he does not hold and has not held a reconnaissance permit, it shall not be necessary for him to produce the said valid clearance certificate:

Provided that an affidavit stating that no dues are outstanding shall suffice subject to the condition that the certificate required as above shall be furnished within ninety days of the date of application and the application shall become invalid if the party fails to file the certificate within the said ninety days:

Provided also that where any injunction has been issued by a court of law or any other competent authority staying the recovery of any such mining dues or income tax, non- payment thereof shall not be treated as a disqualification for the purpose of granting the reconnaissance permit:

Provided further that in case the applicant is a partnership firm or a private limited company, such certificate shall be furnished by all persons of the partnership firm or, as the case may be, all members of the private limited company.

(c) an affidavit stating that the applicant has -

(i) filed up–to-date income-tax returns;

(ii) paid the income-tax assessed on him; and

(iii) paid the income-tax on the basis of his assessment as provided in the Income-Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961).

(d) an affidavit showing the particulars of areas, mineral-wise in the State, which the applicant or any person jointly with him -

(i) already holds under a reconnaissance permit;

(ii) has applied for but not granted; and

(iii) being applied for simultaneously.

4A. Acknowledgement of application. – (1) Where an application for the grant of reconnaissance permit is delivered personally, its receipt shall be acknowledged forthwith.

(2) Where such application is received by registered post, its receipt shall be acknowledged on the same day.

(3) In any other case, the receipt of such application shall be acknowledged within three days of the receipt.

(4) The receipt of every such application shall be acknowledged in Form ‘D-1’.

5. Refusal of application for a reconnaissance permit. – (1) The State Government may after giving an opportunity of being heard and for reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to the applicant, refuse to grant a reconnaissance permit over the whole or part of the area applied for.

(2) Where it appears that the application is not complete in all material particulars or is not accompanied by the required documents, the State Government shall, by notice, require the applicant to supply the omission or, as the case may be, furnish the documents without delay and in any case not later than thirty days from the date of receipt of the said notice by the applicant.

6. Status of grant on death of the applicant for reconnaissance permit. – (1) Where an applicant for the grant of a reconnaissance permit dies before the order granting him a reconnaissance permit is passed, the application for the grant of reconnaissance permit shall be deemed to have been made by his legal representative.

(2) In the case of an applicant in respect of whom an order granting a reconnaissance permit is passed but who dies before the deed referred in sub rule(1) of rule 7A is executed, the order shall be deemed to have been passed in the name of the legal representative of the deceased.

7. Conditions of a reconnaissance permit. – (1) Every reconnaissance permit granted under these rules, shall, in addition to any other conditions that may be specified therein be subject to the following conditions namely,

(i) the holder of reconnaissance permit shall progressively relinquish the area granted under the permit as follows:-

(a) After completion of two years, the area shall be reduced to one thousand square kilometres or fifty per cent of the area granted, whichever is less; and

(b) The area would be further relinquished so that the permit holder is left with an area not more than twenty five square kilometers at the end of the third year.

(ii) The holder of the reconnaissance permit shall strictly adhere to the minimum expenditure commitment and specific physical targets specified in the order of grant of the permit failing which reconnaissance permit may be cancelled.

(iii) The holder of reconnaissance permit shall make available all data collected by him during the reconnaissance operations to the Geological Survey of India, Indian Bureau of Mines and the State Government which may be made available to any prospecting investor after a minimum period of two years of the completion of the period of reconnaissance permit.

(iv) The holder of reconnaissance permit shall not enter any forest land or any private land without obtaining permission of the Forest Department or the owner of the private land, as the case may be.

(v) The holder of reconnaissance permit shall maintain accurate faithful account of all the expenses incurred by him on the reconnaissance operations.

(vi) The holder of reconnaissance permit shall submit to the State Government a six monthly report of the work done by him and the valuable data collected by him during the period. The report shall be submitted within three months of the close of the period to which it relates.

(vii) The permit holder shall also submit to the State Government within three months of the expiry of the permit, or abandonment of the operations or termination of the permit whichever is earlier, a full report of the work done by him and all information relevant to mineral resources acquired by him in the course of reconnaissance permit in the area covered by the permit.

(viii) While submitting reports under sub clause (vi) or (vii), the permit holder may specify that the whole or any part of the report or data submitted by him shall be kept confidential; and the State Government shall thereupon, keep the specified portions as confidential for a period of two years from the expiry of the permit, or abandonment of operations or termination of the permit, whichever is earlier.

(ix) The permit holder shall allow every officer authorised by the Central Government or the State Government in this behalf to examine at any time accounts maintained and furnish to the Central Government or the State Government or any other officer authorised by it in that behalf such information and returns.

(x) The permit holder shall allow any officer authorised by the Central Government or the State Government in this behalf to inspect any reconnaissance operations carried on by him.

(xi) The permit holder shall pay such permit fee as may be fixed by the State Government, being not less than five rupees per square kilometer and not more than twenty rupees per square kilometer of land held by the permit holder for each year or part thereof.

(2) The reconnaissance permit may contain such other conditions as may be imposed by the Central Government which inter-alia may include the condition that the representative of the Directorate General, Civil Aviation or Ministry of Defence shall be present during the aerial surveys.

(3) The State Government may, with the approval of the Central Government, impose such further conditions in the permit as it may think necessary in the interest of mineral development and for compliance of various legal provisions.

(4) In case of breach of any condition imposed on any holder of reconnaissance permit by or under this rule, the State Government may by order in writing, cancel the permit, and/or forfeit in whole or in part, the amount deposited by the permit holder as security:

Provided that no such order shall be made without giving the permit holder a reasonable opportunity of stating his case.

7A. Reconnaissance Permit to be executed within three months. – (1) Where on any application for a reconnaissance permit an order has been made for the grant of such permit, a deed granting such permit shall be executed within ninety days of the date of the communication of the order or such further period as the State Government may allow in this behalf, and if no such deed is executed within such period due to any fault on the part of the applicant, the State Government may revoke the order granting the reconnaissance permit and in that event the fee paid shall be forfeited to the State Government.

(2) The deed referred to in sub rule 1 shall be in Form F-1, or in a Form as near thereto as circumstances of each case may require.

(3) The date of the commencement of the period for which a reconnaissance permit is granted shall be the date on which the deed is executed after all necessary clearances have been obtained.

7B. Security deposit. –

(i) An applicant for a reconnaissance permit shall, before deed referred to in sub rule (1) of rule 7A is executed, deposit as security for the observance of the terms and conditions of the permit a sum of twenty rupees in respect of every square kilometre or part thereof for which the permit is granted.

(ii) Any deposit made under sub clause (i) above if not forfeited under the rules shall be refunded to the applicant as soon as the report referred to in sub rule (1)(vii) of rule 7 is submitted.

7C. Prospecting Licences and Mining Leases of other minerals. –The applications received for grant of prospecting licences or mining leases within the area granted under reconnaissance permit for minerals other than those for which the permit has been granted, shall not be refused on the grounds that the area is not available for grant. The State Government shall dispose of such applications as per provisions of these rules.

Provided that if a prospecting licence or a mining lease for other mineral has been granted to some other applicant within the area granted for a reconnaissance permit and where the reconnaissance permit holder discovers availability of minerals covered under his permit within the area so granted subsequently for prospecting or mining of minerals other than those covered under the reconnaissance permit, he shall have the right to get such areas vacated from the licensee or the lessee, as the case may be and such licensee or lessee shall not hinder the reconnaissance operations being undertaken by the reconnaissance permit holder.

7D. Registers. – (1) A register of applications for reconnaissance permits shall be maintained by the State Government in Form G-1.

(2) A register of reconnaissance permit shall be maintained by State Government in Form H-1.]