RTI for Rajasthan Department of Mines and Geology — Quarry Lease, Marble, Sandstone and DMF Fund Records

The Rajasthan Department of Mines and Geology — administered through the Directorate of Mines and Geology (headquarters: Udyog Bhavan, Jaipur) and a network of District Mining Officers across every major mining district — is the principal state authority responsible for granting, regulating, and monitoring quarry and mining leases for minor minerals under the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2017, and for major minerals under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act). As the licensing authority for India's most mineralogically significant non-coal state, the Directorate holds a vast body of records: quarry lease files, royalty collection registers, mine inspection reports, illegal quarrying complaint files, and District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Trust accounts — all accessible through the Right to Information Act, 2005.

Rajasthan is the country's largest producer of sandstone, marble, gypsum, and lead-zinc, and a major producer of limestone, granite, silica sand, wollastonite, and fluorite. Its mining belt stretches from the Aravalli hills of Alwar and Ajmer in the north-east to the marble-rich valleys of Udaipur and Rajsamand in the south, the sandstone plateaus of Jodhpur and Barmer in the west, and the gypsum plains of Nagaur in the centre. The scale and economic significance of this sector — combined with long-documented concerns about illegal quarrying, dust hazards for quarry workers, community displacement, royalty evasion, and underutilised DMF funds — makes RTI with the Mines Department one of the most consequential uses of the RTI Act in Rajasthan.

Why RTI Matters for Rajasthan Mining

Quarry Lease Records and Royalty Data

Under the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, quarry leases (for sandstone, marble, limestone, gypsum, granite, bajri, and dozens of other minor minerals) are granted by the District Collector on the recommendation of the District Mining Officer, for periods ranging from one to twenty years over specified areas. The lease file includes the application, the survey plan, the grant order, the signed lease deed, and subsequent correspondence about renewals, extensions, amendments, and show-cause notices for violations.

Royalty is the statutory charge payable by a lessee to the state government based on the quantity of mineral extracted, at rates notified under the relevant rules. In practice, royalty evasion — under-reporting of extraction quantities and transport without Transit Passes (TP) — has been a persistent problem in Rajasthan's quarrying belt, documented in Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports on Rajasthan's mining revenue. RTI to the District Mining Officer can reveal what royalty was assessed versus what was actually collected for a specific lease or for all leases in a district during a given year — providing a factual basis for complaints about revenue leakage.

Illegal Quarrying and the Enforcement Gap

Illegal quarrying — extraction of stone or mineral without a valid lease, or extraction beyond the permitted lease area — is widespread in several parts of Rajasthan. Alwar, Bharatpur, and the Aravalli quarrying belt have been the subject of multiple Supreme Court orders (including the ongoing Aravalli hills encroachment matter) and NGT proceedings. Jodhpur's sandstone belt, Nagaur's gypsum tracts, and the marble quarrying zones of Rajsamand and Udaipur have all seen documented illegal extraction.

When a complaint about illegal quarrying is filed — with the District Mining Officer, the Collector, or the police — a mine inspector is expected to visit the site, record findings, and file an Action-Taken Report (ATR). In practice, ATRs are frequently dilatory, incomplete, or never served to the complainant. RTI allows any person — the original complainant, an affected community member, a journalist, or an advocate — to obtain the ATR directly from the District Mining Officer or the Directorate, creating an official record of whether enforcement action was actually taken.

Mine Inspection Reports and Worker Safety

Under the MMDR Act, 1957, and the rules made thereunder, mine inspectors from the Directorate are required to periodically inspect working quarries to verify compliance with lease conditions and safety norms — including the use of wet drilling to suppress silica dust, the availability of personal protective equipment, the maintenance of mine plans, and compliance with permitted excavation depths and blast patterns.

Mine inspection reports are not commercially sensitive documents — they are records of government regulatory activity. They are entirely accessible under the RTI Act, subject only to any legitimately applicable exemption (which is rarely applicable to safety inspection records of quarrying operations). For communities near quarries, mine inspection reports reveal whether the government has been inspecting the workings at all, and whether deficiencies found on inspection led to actual follow-up action.

The Silicosis Crisis in Rajasthan's Stone Belt

Silicosis is recognised as an occupational disease of epidemic proportions among quarry workers in Rajasthan's sandstone, marble, and granite belts. Jodhpur district — a major centre of sandstone quarrying and stone cutting — has been documented in studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research, public health researchers, and NGOs as having very high rates of silicosis mortality. Workers who spent years drilling, cutting, or polishing fine-grained sandstone without adequate dust suppression or respiratory protection have contracted the irreversible fibrotic lung disease that causes progressive breathlessness and early death.

RTI is a critical tool for workers, their families, trade unions, and advocacy organisations working in this space. Through RTI to the Directorate of Mines and Geology, applicants can obtain mine inspection reports that should record dust control measures, the presence or absence of wet drilling, and whether the mine inspector noted or penalised violations. Through RTI to the Labour Department and the Chief Inspector of Factories and Boilers (which has jurisdiction over mechanised quarrying operations), applicants can obtain medical examination records and compensation claim records. The Rajasthan government's Silicosis Relief Fund — established following a Supreme Court order — provides compensation to silicosis victims; RTI to the relevant district administration can reveal how many applications have been received, how many approved or rejected, and how much compensation actually disbursed.

District Mineral Foundation — Community Rights to Mining Revenue

The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) was created under Section 9B of the MMDR Act, 1957 (inserted by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015), as a statutory mechanism to ensure that communities in mining-affected areas directly benefit from the mineral wealth extracted from their regions. In Rajasthan's major mining districts — Jodhpur, Nagaur, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Alwar, Jalore, Chittorgarh — substantial DMF funds have accumulated over years of royalty collection from quarry and mine lease holders.

The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), notified by the Ministry of Mines in 2015, lays down that at least 60% of DMF funds must be spent on high-priority areas: drinking water supply and sanitation, healthcare, education, welfare of women and children, skill development, care for the aged and differently abled, and environmental preservation in mining-affected areas. The remaining funds (up to 40%) can be used for physical infrastructure: roads, power, drainage, and irrigation in mining-affected areas.

In practice, DMF fund utilisation in Rajasthan has been criticised — including in CAG reports — for delayed project execution, diversion of funds to non-PMKKKY works, and failure to involve affected communities in project selection. RTI to the District Mining Officer (who is typically the DMF Trust administrator, under the Collector's oversight) provides the mechanism to demand a full account: how much was collected, what was sanctioned, what was released, which villages were identified as affected, which implementing agencies received contracts, and what is the completion status of each project.

Structure of the Rajasthan Mines Department

The Department of Mines and Geology operates through:

• Directorate of Mines and Geology, Jaipur: The apex body; headed by the Director of Mines and Geology. Issues leases for major minerals, sets royalty policy, oversees the district-level administration, and handles appeals and enforcement for serious violations.
• District Mining Officers (DMOs): One in each district with significant mineral activity. The DMO is the front-line authority for minor mineral lease grants, royalty collection, mine inspections, illegal quarrying complaints, and DMF administration at the district level. The DMO typically functions as CPIO for district-level applications.
• Mine Inspectors: Field officers posted under the DMO who conduct physical inspections of quarries and mines, prepare inspection reports, and initiate action for violations.
• Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited (RSMML): A state PSU that operates government-owned mines (including rock phosphate at Jhamarkotra, lignite at Barsingsar, and gypsum at Bikaner-Nagaur belt). RSMML is a separate public authority from the regulatory Directorate; RTI regarding RSMML's own operations should be addressed to its CPIO directly.

What RTI Can Obtain from the Mines Department

Quarry Lease Files

Complete lease files including the original grant order, lease deed, survey plan, area map, prescribed royalty rates, and all subsequent correspondence (renewal applications, show-cause notices, penalty orders, and cancellation orders if any). These are regulatory records held by the DMO and the Directorate — not commercially sensitive documents exempt from disclosure.

Royalty Collection Records

District-wise and lease-wise royalty assessment and collection records for a given financial year. These records reveal: total royalty assessed for a specific lease or all leases in a district; amounts actually paid; outstanding arrears; and penalties levied for delayed or short payment. Comparing the royalty collected against the permitted extraction quantities (as recorded in the lease file and Transit Pass records) is a key method for investigating royalty evasion.

Transit Pass Records

Transit Passes (TPs) are documents issued for every consignment of mineral transported from a quarry. TP records — maintained by the DMO — should correspond to the royalty paid. A significant discrepancy between TP-implied extraction volumes and royalty paid suggests under-reporting.

Illegal Quarrying Complaint and Action-Taken Reports

Filed complaints, inspection notes, FIRs (or reasons no FIR was registered), and the final ATR for illegal quarrying incidents at specific locations. These are the most frequently sought records in Rajasthan's mining RTI applications.

Mine Inspection Reports

Reports of periodic and surprise inspections conducted by mine inspectors at specific quarries or mines. These contain: date of inspection, inspector's name, observations on safety compliance, dust control measures, lease condition compliance, and recommended action.

DMF Trust Records

Annual fund collection statements, project sanction lists, implementation agency agreements, progress reports, and beneficiary village lists for the DMF Trust in a specific district.

Step-by-Step Guide to Filing RTI with the Rajasthan Mines Department

Step 1: Identify the Right Office

The Rajasthan Mines Department has two main tiers of RTI authority:

• Directorate of Mines and Geology, Jaipur: For policy records, major mineral leases, Directorate-level enforcement action, state-level royalty statistics, and appeals/review matters.
• District Mining Officer, District: For minor mineral quarry leases in that district, district-level royalty records, mine inspection reports in the district, illegal quarrying ATRs in the district, and DMF fund records for that district.

For quarry-level records, the District Mining Officer is usually the correct CPIO. If in doubt, file with the Directorate — under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, the CPIO must transfer the application to the correct office within five days.

Step 2: Draft Specific, Numbered Questions

Use the sample RTI requests above as a template. Each question should be a single, specific information request. Key details to include:

• For lease-related requests: the lease number (if known), the mineral type, the village and tehsil, the lessee's name (if known), and the financial year.
• For illegal quarrying ATRs: the approximate location, the date on which the complaint was filed, and any complaint registration number received.
• For mine inspection reports: the lease number or the mine location, and the inspection period.
• For DMF records: the district name and the financial year.

Step 3: File Online via rtionline.gov.in

The Rajasthan Department of Mines and Geology accepts RTI applications through the central RTI online portal at https://rtionline.gov.in. Filing online is strongly recommended as it creates a registration number, provides a documentary trail, and simplifies tracking. The ₹10 fee can be paid online. BPL cardholders filing by post should attach an attested copy of their BPL ration card.

For postal filing, address the application to:

• The CPIO, Directorate of Mines and Geology, Udyog Bhavan, Tilak Marg, Jaipur – 302005, Rajasthan (for Directorate-level records and major mineral matters).
• The CPIO, District Mining Officer, District Name, Rajasthan (for district-level minor mineral, quarry lease, royalty, inspection, ATR, and DMF records).

Step 4: Track the Response Timeline

Under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, the CPIO must respond within 30 days of receipt. Where the information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person — for instance, records about mine safety hazards actively threatening workers' health — the response is due within 48 hours under the proviso to Section 7(1). Keep all acknowledgements and registration numbers.

Key RTI Act Provisions for Mines Department Applications

• Section 2(h): The Directorate of Mines and Geology and its District Mining Officers are public authorities — state government bodies exercising statutory powers under the MMDR Act and Rajasthan Mineral Rules.
• Section 2(f): Quarry lease orders, royalty records, inspection reports, ATRs, and DMF accounts are all "information" within the meaning of the RTI Act — held by, or under the control of, the Mines Department.
• Section 6: The procedure and fee (₹10) for filing an RTI application.
• Section 7(1): 30-day response deadline; 48 hours for life and liberty matters.
• Section 19(1): First Appeal to the First Appellate Authority within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable.
• Section 19(3): Second Appeal to the Rajasthan State Information Commission (RSIC).
• Section 20: Penalty of ₹250 per day (up to ₹25,000) imposable by the RSIC on the CPIO for unjustified refusal, delay, or incomplete/false disclosure.

First Appeal — Section 19(1)

If the Mines Department does not respond within 30 days, or the response is incomplete, unsatisfactory, or a refusal without adequate legal justification, file a First Appeal under Section 19(1) of the RTI Act within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. Address it to the First Appellate Authority — typically the Director of Mines and Geology for Directorate-level applications, or the Collector / Additional Collector for DMO-level applications. No fee is payable.

State in the appeal: your original registration number and date; exactly what information was withheld or inadequately provided; and why the refusal is not justified under any exemption in Sections 8 or 9 of the RTI Act. The FAA must decide within 30 days (extendable to 45 days with reasons recorded).

Second Appeal — Section 19(3) — Rajasthan State Information Commission (RSIC)

If the First Appeal is rejected, unanswered, or unsatisfactory, file a Second Appeal under Section 19(3) with the Rajasthan State Information Commission (RSIC) within 90 days of the FAA's order or the expiry of the FAA's response deadline. The RSIC — not the Central Information Commission (CIC) — is the exclusive second-appeal authority for all Rajasthan state public authorities, including the Department of Mines and Geology and its District Mining Officers.

This distinction is critical. Citizens who are accustomed to filing RTI with Central Government bodies (the Ministry of Mines, the IBM, Coal India, NMDC) often default to the CIC's online portal. For any RTI addressed to a Rajasthan state body — the Directorate, a DMO, or the RSMML — the CIC has no jurisdiction. The RSIC, headquartered in Jaipur, is the correct forum. Filing with the CIC in error wastes time and results in dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

At the RSIC, explicitly request that the Commission consider imposing the Section 20 penalty on the CPIO personally if the delay or refusal was without reasonable cause — this request ensures the RSIC addresses the penalty question as part of its order. Under Section 20, the RSIC can impose ₹250 per day of default (up to ₹25,000 maximum) and recommend disciplinary action for persistent or malafide non-compliance.

Practical Tips for Rajasthan Mines Department RTI Applications

1. Specify the lease number and mineral type whenever possible. The DMO's records are indexed by lease number and mineral category. "The sandstone quarry of M/s XYZ near village ABC, lease No. number" is far more productive than "the quarry near the hills."
2. For illegal quarrying complaints, provide the date and location of the original complaint. The DMO files complaints by date and location. Your original complaint receipt or registration number (if obtained) will help the CPIO identify the relevant ATR.
3. For DMF fund records, specify the financial year and the district. DMF trust accounts are maintained district-wise and year-wise. Requesting "all DMF records" is too broad; requesting "DMF fund utilisation for Jodhpur district, FY 2023–24" is specific and actionable.
4. Request mine inspection report registers, not just individual reports. If you do not know the specific inspection dates, request the inspection register for the quarry or the district for a given year — this lists all inspections conducted, dates, inspector names, and report reference numbers. A separate request can then seek specific reports.
5. Cross-reference royalty records with Transit Pass data. Requesting both royalty payment records and TP-implied extraction volumes for the same lease and the same year can reveal discrepancies that indicate under-reporting or royalty evasion.
6. For silicosis-related applications, also file with the Labour Department. The Directorate of Mines and Geology holds mine inspection records. The Labour Department (through its Industrial Health and Safety officers) may hold separate medical surveillance records and compensation claim files. Filing RTI with both departments builds a more complete picture.
7. The Second Appeal is to RSIC, not CIC. The Rajasthan State Information Commission in Jaipur is the second-appeal authority. Never file a second appeal on a Rajasthan mines department matter with the CIC in Delhi — it will be rejected for want of jurisdiction.
8. RTI can precede or support court proceedings. Records obtained through RTI — mine inspection reports showing safety violations, ATRs showing no action on illegal quarrying complaints, DMF records showing funds lying unspent while affected communities go without water or healthcare — are directly usable as evidence in petitions before the Rajasthan High Court (mining and environment matters), the National Green Tribunal's Western Zone Bench at Jodhpur, and the Supreme Court (in the ongoing Aravalli matters).
9. RSMML is a separate public authority. If your inquiry concerns Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited's own mining operations (rock phosphate, lignite, gypsum mined by RSMML directly), file RTI with the CPIO of RSMML — not the Directorate.
10. BPL cardholders pay no fee. Attach an attested copy of your BPL ration card with any postal application to waive the ₹10 fee.

Rajasthan's mineral wealth — from the Makrana marble that adorned the Taj Mahal to the zinc produced at Zawar for millennia — generates enormous public revenues and equally enormous public responsibilities. The Department of Mines and Geology, as the custodian of lease records, royalty accounts, mine inspection reports, and DMF trusts, holds the documentary record of how that wealth is governed. The RTI Act gives every citizen the right to examine that record — and the Rajasthan State Information Commission provides the enforcement backstop when the Department falls short of its disclosure obligations.