(a) whether the marble mining industry in the country is lying in an unorganized state;
(b) if so, whether the Government have any proposal to organise and introduce professionalism in marble mining; and
(c) if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF MINES AND MINERALS
(SMT. RITA VERMA)
(a): Marble is a minor mineral defined under Section 3(e) of the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957. Under Section 15 of the said Act, the State Governments are empowered to frame their own Minor Mineral Concession Rules (MCDR) for regulating the grant of mining/quarry lease in respect of minor minerals and hence the rules governing the grant of mineral concessions for marble are not uniform and they differ from State to State.
(b)&(c): Recently, Central Government has constituted a Group on Marble Development (GMD), which works under the overall guidance and supervision of the Granite Development Council (GDC). Its terms of reference inter-alia include assessing and reviewing periodically the status of marble quarries, measures for speedy development of the mineral technology employed in the quarries, measures for upgradation of technology and scientific exploitation, measures for increasing value addition in marble, marble products and exports. The constitution of GMD is expected to benefit the marble industry of the country in the long run.