Cuttack: Orissa high court has expressed concern over litigations arising out of orders passed by tehsildars in relation to sand ‘sairat’ (mining) sources despite the amendment to mining rules in 2022.A division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M S Raman on Feb 18 expressed concern while quashing an order of the tehsildar of Badasahi in Mayurbhanj district cancelling a sand auction process, holding that the officer had no jurisdiction after the amendment.The bench said, “The spate of litigations are exploding the dockets of this court when the tehsildar of the respective jurisdictions are passing an order in relation to sand sairat sources after an amendment has been brought by virtue of a notification dated Dec 27, 2022, (Odisha Minor Minerals (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022) redefining the term ‘authorised officer’ to mean the director of mines and geology or any officer duly authorised by the govt in writing for the purpose.”The court noted that the amendment to the Odisha Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2016, came into effect on Dec 28, 2022, the date of its publication in the official gazette, transferring powers relating to sand sairat sources and quarry leases to the mining department.A contender lessee had filed a petition challenging before the court the Oct 14, 2025 order of the Badasahi tehsildar cancelling an auction initiated on March 15, 2022, on the ground that it had not been finalised for over three years and that sand prices had increased significantly. The bench held that though the auction began before the amendment, it remained incomplete when the new provisions came into force.“The moment the amended Rules has taken away the jurisdiction from the tehsildar and vested it upon the mining officer, any order or a decision taken by the tehsildar is per se illegal and/or a nullity for want of jurisdiction and power, and therefore should not be allowed to occupy a space in the administrative field,” the bench said.While disposing of the petition, the court directed the Badasahi tehsildar to transfer all records to the mining department within two weeks. The mining officer has been asked to take a fresh decision according to law within four weeks.
