Supreme Court Orders Review of Rajasthan's Pre-2011 Mining Leases

The Supreme Court has mandated the Rajasthan government to reassess all pre-2011 mining leases granted without auctions, citing unfair benefit to affluent parties. The court upheld the Rajasthan High Court's cancellation of such a lease in Pali district due to environmental non-compliance.

In a significant ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court instructed the Rajasthan government to re-evaluate all mining leases issued before 2011 that bypassed the auction process. The move aims to address concerns of 'unjust' and 'unethical' enrichment of the wealthy.

A bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, expressed surprise at the state's past practice of issuing mining leases without proper auctions. The court reinforced a Rajasthan High Court decision that annulled a mining lease in Pali district due to non-compliance with environmental regulations.

The bench emphasized that state resources should not be distributed in a non-transparent manner and insisted that auctions are crucial for ensuring reasonable and competitive allocation of resources. The state counsel reported adherence to the auction process post-2011, but the Supreme Court called for a review of earlier practices to prevent undue enrichment.

(With inputs from agencies.)