Material resources of the community, The expression 'material resources of the community' does not mean that the ownership of the resource must already vest in the State. The distribution envisaged by Article 39 (b) necessarily takes within its stride the transformation of wealth from private ownership into public ownership by nationalisation. Hence the expression 'material resources of the community' is not confined to natural resources; it is not confined to resources owned by the public; it means and includes all resources, natural and man-made, public and private-owned, Sanjeev Coke Manufacturing Company v. M/s. Bharat Coking Coal Limited, AIR 1983 SC 239 (251): (1983) 1 SCC 147: (1983) 1 SCR 1000. [Constitution of India, Art. 39 (b)]
The expression 'material resources of the community' would cover the lands held by private owners also, State of Maharashtra v. Basanti Bai Mohanlal Khetan, AIR 1986 SC 1466: (1986) 2 SCC 516: (1986) 1 SCR 707.