Royalty on excavated earth depends on notified end use, so a blanket levy for mere excavation fails.

Royalty and penalty on excavated ordinary earth cannot be imposed merely because the earth was dug up; liability depends on actual end use. Under the mining notification, ordinary earth is treated as a minor mineral only when used for filling or levelling in construction of embankments, roads, railways or buildings. Where the material is not shown to have been used for those notified purposes, a notice under Section 48(7) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code cannot be sustained. On the stated facts, use for levelling agricultural land for cultivation fell outside the notification, so the notice and consequential proceedings were quashed.

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Issues: Whether ordinary earth excavated in the course of construction of a freight corridor could be subjected to royalty and penalty merely because it was excavated, and whether the impugned notice under Section 48(7) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 could be sustained when the notified use requirement was not satisfied.

Analysis: Ordinary earth was brought within the expression "minor mineral" by the Central Government notification issued under clause (e) of Section 3 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, but only when it is used for filling or levelling purposes in construction of embankments, roads, railways or buildings. The statutory scheme shows that liability does not arise from excavation alone. The determinative factor is the end use of the excavated earth. A blanket levy merely because earth was dug up is impermissible. On the facts, the material did not show that the excavated earth was used for any of the notified purposes; use for levelling agricultural land for cultivation was outside the notification.

Conclusion: The notice proposing royalty and penalty was unsustainable and could not be enforced against the petitioners.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the notice and consequential proceedings were quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: Liability for excavated ordinary earth depends on its actual end use, and royalty or penalty cannot be imposed unless the earth is used for the specific notified purposes of filling or levelling in construction of embankments, roads, railways or buildings.

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