Bowing to the pressure from farmers and public organisations, the Department of Mines and Geology has proposed to cancel the leasing of private land for limestone survey to Reliance Cement Company Pvt. Ltd.
The Mines Department and Reliance Company entered into a lease agreement for 4,927.49 acres for a period of two years for conducting mineral density survey on January 16, 2014. The lease licence was named as prospecting Licensing for Limestone, executed by the Assistant Director of Mines and Geology following a Government Order.
The Assistant Director wrote to the Joint Sub-Registrar requesting him to cancel the deed on the ground that the lease was causing inconvenience to farmers, whose right to sell the land is affected during the lease period.
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However, the sources in Registration Department indicated that mere letter is not sufficient to cancel the registered deed. Only the executants (Assistant Director of Mines) and claimant (Reliance representative) are authorised to cancel the deed through a formal document and until then, the lease would be in force.
Meanwhile, a group of farmers approached the High Court and obtained stay which would lead to judicial review of the deal. In the meantime, the Revenue and Mines Department are at loggerheads as the former claims that they presented detailed reports suggesting the consent of farmers. No consent was obtained from farmers and they were also not informed about it. The Mines officials said that they executed the lease only after Government issued an order for the lease.
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The lands leased village-wise are: Gargeyapuram 2028.28 acres, Pudicharla 1457.36 acres, Nannur 1076.34 acres and Ketavaram 365.51 acres. Ketavaram, the last village falls under prohibited area where pre-historic dwelling site exists. The farmers were gearing up for a fight on the ground that the entry of Reliance lease into their encumbrance records was affecting their right to sell property or secure loans against the property.