Inauguration of India Stonemart 2015
Jaipur,The Chief Minister Smt.
Vasundhara Raje said that the state government would very soon launch a mineral
policy which would accommodate the concerns of industry, support investment and
at the same time promote green, clean and environmentally healthy practices to
explore the mineral riches. She called upon the businesses to adopt modern
environmentally acceptable technology for optimum utilization of mineral
resources with less wastage and lesser health hazards.
Smt. Raje was addressing the inaugural
function of the 8th India Stonemart-2015 at Jaipur Exhibition and Convention
Centre in Sitapura Industrial Area on Thursday. As a part of the Jaipur
Architectural Festival organized concurrently, she also honoured the winners of
All India Stone Architectural Awards in four categories Exterior Facing,
Interior Design, Green Architecture and Landscaping.
Arguing for green processes, the Chief
Minister suggested the stone industry to recycle or reuse the waste materials
produced so that the impact of environmental and health hazards could be
minimized. To promote such initiatives, the government has exempted making of
powder using marble slurry, she said. Also, now some entrepreneurs have shown
interest in manufacturing gypsum from the marble slurry, she added.
Smt. Raje said that Rajasthan was a
mineral rich state and it accounted for 90% of the total reserves of marble,
sandstone, limestone etc. "For us, the mineral deposits are not just
sources of wealth, but source of livelihoods. Especially, livelihoods of about
1 million people are dependent on minerals. Thus, sustained development of this
sector is the government's priority," she stated.
The Chief Minister said that the country's
biggest and one of the world's top events of stone industry Stonemart had grown
considerably over the years. For her, it was a matter of pride that like other
occasions such as jewelry show, literature festival, events at Jawahar Kala
Kendra, devotional music festival this exhibition too had become a huge
footprint to project Rajasthan on the international platform. Such programmes
gave pleasure to the people of the state as well as promoted tourism, she said.
Smt. Raje called upon the expert
architects participating in Jaipur Architectural Festival to be part of the government's
efforts for renewing urban spaces and developing new smart cities. "We
believe our smart cities to be green cities, which are to be beautiful and go
down in the history," she said. Underlining the need of skilled human
resource for stone industry, the CM
invited investors and industry majors to share their
manpower requirements and come forward to partner with the state government to
develop skillsets of the youth.
The CM also launched the International
Stone Industry Exhibition and saw various stone products from Turkey, Italy,
China, other countries as well as those from different Indian states including
Gujarat and Karnataka on this occasion . She further inaugurated the artisan
pavilion Shilpgram-2015 installed by Rajasthan Non-Farm Development Agency
(RUDA) and saw different handcraft and stone products showcased there.
The Industries Minister Gajendra
Singh Khinvawar, while addressing the inaugural function, said that economy of
20 districts of the state was dependent on stone industry. Marble, limestone,
sandstone, granite and other minerals had contributed to construction of
several historical monuments. The Chief Secretary Shri CS Rajan expressed the
need for a sustainable development of stone industry. He said that for this,
mining and processing of stones was required to be modernized by environmental
friendly means. The Principal Secretary Industries Smt. Veenu Gupta said that
Stonemart was a big platform for dialogue and interaction between different
stakeholders of stone industry.
The Principal Secretary Mining Ashok
Singhvi, Vice Chairman of Centre for Development of Stones (CDOS) Ashok
Kumar Dhoot, CEO of CDOS RK Gupta, Prakash Deshmukh of Indian
Institute of Architecture, Director General FICCI Arbind Prasad, senior
officers, delegates or representatives of stone industry from various parts of
the world, businessmen related to stone and mining industries were also present
on this occasion.
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