Govt plans global stone tech park in City

The State government is planning to set up a Global Stone Technical Park on 500 acres to 1,000 acres of land in the City.

Speaking at the inauguration of Stona-2012, Large and Medium-scale Industries Minister, Murugesh Nirani, said each unit would be provided at least two acres of land.

“The park will be on the lines of Tech Park, IT Park, Food Park and so on. This will explore the business potential and expose people in the industry to the latest technology,” said the minister. The granite industry is yet to be explored in the State, he added.

Nirani said the government has created a land bank of 1.18 lakh acres for investment purposes.

Dr Vishwapati Trivedi, Secretary in the Union Ministry of Mines, said the country remained the largest producer of stones, despite the mining industry passing through a difficult period. “India today has over 200 varieties of granite,” he said.

“Last year, our country produced 35,000 tonnes of granite, while we have a reserve of 42 million cubic metres. Going by the way we are exploring these resources, it will take several centuries to exhaust them,” said Trivedi.

He said India is not only the largest exporter of granite, but also its largest consumer in the world.

Trivedi emphasised the need for transparent and uniform Granite Conservation and Development Rules (GCDR). Presently, the draft copy of the GCDR is before the parliamentary standing committee, which may take five to six months to clear it.

The government is bringing changes in the mining industry with a draft bill, which has been uploaded on the mining ministry’s website for suggestions or complaints.