TMI Blog1982 (3) TMI 259X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sferred or entrusted to it by the State Government.' Obviously, the 'contract system,' that is, the system of selling by public auction the right to fell trees and exploit forest produce in specified forest areas (described in their parlance as 'forest lots') was to go. It was to be substituted by the scheme of allotting the forest lots to the Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation and requiring (he Corporation to fell the trees and exploit forest produce. However, despite the enactment of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation Act, the contract system appeared to persist. For the year 1980-81 auction of forest lots of East Bahraich Division was, as in previous years, advertised and it was to be held on 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th September, 1980. But soon after publishing the advertisement, the Government took a decision that the forest lots should be allotted to the Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation for felling of trees. This decision appears to have led forest contractors to move fast in the matter by getting some Members of the Legislature to intervene almost immediately. Notwithstanding that the Legislature itself had laid down the policy to be pursued in the matter o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the auction, they even fired revolvers in the air. The Forest Officer did not take any action against them. They wanted that the auction of all the lots including those held on 1st, 3rd and 4th should be cancelled. The other group of contractors stated in their representation that they were the highest bidders at the auctions held on 1st, 3rd and 4th which had gone on peacefully and that their bids should be accepted and not cancelled. According to the Conservator of Forests the entire trouble was due to the failure of the District Forest Officer to observe the official instructions strictly. He had allowed unregistered contractors to become successful bidders instead of preventing them from participating in the auction. The Conservator also stated in his letter that the highest bids fetched at the auction were 71 percent more than the estimated price. It was only in East Bahraich Forest Division that there were such huge 40 bids. In other Forest Divisions the bids were about 37 to 55 percent more than the estimated price. According to the Conservator of Forests the high bids in East Bahraich Division were due to the fact that the Bhingla, Sohelwa, East and West Kakaradai forest ar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e conditions of auction made it perfectly clear that the Government was under no obligation to accept the highest bid and that no rights accrued to the bidder merely because his bid happened to be the highest. Under condition No. 10 it was expressly provided that the acceptance of bid at the time of auction was entirely provisional and was subject to ratification by the competent authority, namely, the State Government. Therefore, the Government had the right, for good and sufficient reason, we may say, not to accept the highest bid but even to prefer a tenderer other than the highest bidder. The High Court was clearly in error in holding that the Government could not refuse to accept the highest bid except on the ground of inadequacy of the bid. Condition No. 10 does not so restrict the power of the Government not to accept the bid. There is no reason why the power vested in the Government to refuse to accept the highest bid should be confined to inadequacy of bid only. There may be a variety of good and sufficient reasons, apart from inadequacy of bids, which may impel the Government not to accept the highest bid. In fact, to give an anti-theatric illusiration, the very enormity ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g itself free to revise its policy, cancelled the auction and allotted the forest lots to the Forest Corporation. It is true that there is no express policy decision of the Government recorded after the date of auction. It is implicit in the very action of 20' the Government in cancelling the auction and allotting the forest lots to the Forest Corporation. The policy decision had already been taken by the legislature when it enacted the Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation Act and by the Government when it earlier decided to allot all the forest lots to the Forest Corporation. There was a deviation from the policy decision, at the instance of some legislators, in the case of the East Bahraich Forest Division. The events that took place later that is the fantasy of the bids at the auction on 1st, 3rd and 4th and the disturbances that took place on 5th exposed the folly of such deviation and resulted in the Government immediately reverting to its earlier decision to allot all the forest lots to the Forest Corporation. It is true that the auction held on 1st, 3rd and 4th November fetched bids totalling ₹ 1 crore 92 lakhs which was 71 percent over the estimated price of the timbe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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