(1) (Omitted)
(2) (a) An application for the renewal of a prospecting licence shall be made at least ninety days before the expiry of the prospecting licence and shall be accompanied by –
(i) a statement relating to the prospecting operations already undertaken by the applicant;
(ii) the amount of expenditure incurred;
(iii) the numbers of hours and days for which the work was undertaken; and
(iv) the period which is required to complete the prospecting work.
(b) An application for the renewal for a prospecting licence shall be disposed of by the State Government before the expiry of the period of prospecting licence and if the application is not disposed of within that period, the licence shall be deemed to have been renewed for a period not exceeding the period prescribed for renewal of prospecting licence 10 under sub-section (2) of section 7 of the Act, or the period for which an application is made, whichever is less.
(3) The State Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing and communicated to the applicant , at the time of renewal, reduce the area applied for.
1 [(4) The State Government may condone delay in submission of an application for renewal of a prospecting licence made after the time limit prescribed in sub-rule (2) provided the application for the renewal has been made before the expiry of the licence.]