BENGALURU: Karnataka may soon have a dedicated R&D centre in Chamarajanagar district for skill training of personnel for granite mining.
“We have requested the state government to allot two acres of land in Chamarajanagar for the R&D centre, and they have agreed in principle,” said Federation of Indian Granite and Stone Industry (FIGSI) president Krishna Prasad, during the inauguration of ‘STONA 25’ in the city on Wednesday. He added that the industry has been going through a grind for the last decade on account of multiple reasons, and is banking on the new Central and state mining policies.
“High royalty on granite, ban on Chinese visas and closure of around 300 mines because of the old mining policy has come as a huge setback to the industry,” said Prasad. China, he said, was the “biggest market for granite from Karnataka, but now exports to the eastern neighbour have stopped after the ban on visas post the Covid-19 pandemic. This has adversely impacted our business. We are now looking at Eastern Europe for exports. Around 200-300 mines are closed for the decade because of the old industrial policy, and a similar number of lease applications are pending before the government for renewal for more than 10 years,” he said.
Ironically, Karnataka, which is known for the best quality black granite in the world, ranks fourth in granite mining in India after Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. “In Rajasthan, royalty on all stones is Rs 265 per tonne, in Karnataka the government has levied royalty ranging between Rs 600 and Rs 2,000 per tonne,” added Prasad.
He said that sustainability and environmental guidelines are being strictly followed. “On our request, the state government has allowed us to dump mining waste within a 3-km radius of the quarries. This can be sold anytime on payment of royalty. Till such time, the government is the custodian of the waste. We hope a similar rule will be implemented in other states because earlier, we were dumping mining waste in quarries, which affected movement of miners and mining activity,” the FIGSI president said.
Minister of State for Commerce & Industries, Rajasthan, Krishan Kumar Vishnoi, while inaugurating STONA 2025, said “it is time we encouraged ‘Make in India’ and Indian youth and offer them more opportunities, improve their skills and eventually grow the stone and granite industry from Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 1,00,000 crore. Today, upgradation of technology has made processing of stones very efficient”.
Suggesting that FIGSI look into various aspects of global development in terms of technology intervention, processing of waste generated at quarrying sites through research and development in their Centres of Excellence, he added, “This will bring in value-addition and provide skill sets to labour associated with the natural stone industry.”
The 16th edition of the bi-annual STONA, the third largest international stone fair, is host to over 3,500 stalls with country pavilions from 18 countries. The stone fair has a special set of stalls, Shilpgram, where around 25 artisans from across the country have put up stalls showcasing their skills and wares.