Pink sandstone supply for Ram temple to be eased soon
A standing committee of the Rajasthan Wildlife Board has cleared a proposal to allow the mining of a special sandstone from Bharatpur's Bandh Baretha sanctuary. "The proposal to denotify the sanctuary for the mining of the pink sandstone from there will now be put up before the Rajasthan Wildlife Board, headed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot," Chief Wildlife Warden Mohan Meena said.
Matter will be sent to National Wildlife Board for approval
Meena said, "The standing committee has given approval and the matter will now be taken up by the state wildlife board for consideration after which it will be sent for approval to the National Wildlife Board." "Thousands of tonnes of the pink sandstone mined in Bharatpur's Bansi Paharpur have been sourced for the temple over the years, but more is needed," he added.
Dholpur variant is no match to the Bansi Paharpur stone
There were concerns in Ayodhya that supplies of this stone with pink hue would dry up. Since blocks of this sandstone had already been carved - ready to be put in place as the temple comes up - switching over to a lesser grade of stone would have caused problems. The Dholpur variant is said to be no match to the Bansi Paharpur stone.
Authorities deny the move is specific to the Ram temple
Authorities in Congress-run Rajasthan, however, denied that the move to denotify the Bansi Paharpur block in Bharatpur's Bandh Baretha wildlife sanctuary has anything specific to do with the Ram temple.
Stone is in high demand across the country
A senior district administration official said, "The stone is in high demand across the country and the process for the de-notification was not started only because the particular sandstone is required for the Ram temple." "There is no forest left there and if it is de-linked from the sanctuary, the State Government will get the revenue from any mining there," he said.
Mining banned after 2016; stone remained available in grey market
Mining was banned after 2016 but illegal operations continued and the Bansi Paharpur (pink stone) sandstone remained available in the grey market. Supply of the stone took a hit after the Bharatpur administration seized 25 trucks loaded with illegally mined pink sandstone last September.
