central empowered committee report (i) of the cec in writ petition

Conservator of Forest, Bellary Circle has on 1.9.2005
granted NOC for mining lease over 729.00 acres of forest
land falling in the NE Block, in favour of M/s Balaji Mines and
Minerals. This was subsequently vide order dated 9.7.2008
withdrawn by the Conservator of Forest, Bellary Circle
(enclosed at ANNEXURE-R-19 and ANNEXURE-R-20
respectively). The CEC has never come across any case
where, in spite of the forest area being notified as reserved
forest, the DFO / Dy. CF has certified it as non-forest land on
the basis of the Survey of India topo sheet. The Conservator
of Forest, Bellary Circle through a series of orders issued in
2008 has withdrawn the NOCs issued by the Range Forest
Officer and the order issued by the Deputy Conservator of
Forest, Bellary stating that these are forest lands and were
wrongly certified to be non-forest lands.
14. The details given above by the Karnataka Mines
Department shows that the mining leases were granted /
under process for grant on the basis of No Objection
Certificate issued by the then Deputy Commissioner, Bellary
on the ground that the area applied for mining lease is a
non-forest land. These NOCs were issued by the then
Deputy Commissioner, Bellary without obtaining a report
from the concerned Divisional Forest Officer something that
was mandatory and Reports were accordingly sought from
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