Samatha case
Also called: Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) · Topic: Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) is a Supreme Court judgment on mining in Scheduled Areas, the tribal areas protected by the Fifth Schedule. The Court read the A.P. Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation 1959 and held that the government itself counts as a "person" under it. So the government cannot lease its land in Scheduled Areas to private non-tribal mining companies, and such leases are void. Mining there may be done only by state undertakings or tribal cooperatives. The case is a landmark for protecting tribal land from being lost to outsiders.
Example
The Court also suggested that at least 20% of net profits from such mining be set aside for tribal development. District Mineral Foundations, set up in 2015, carry a similar idea.
Don't confuse with
- Niyamgiri case (2013): this was about gram sabhas deciding whether a mining project could go ahead. Samatha was about who may be given land for mining at all.