Jaipur: Union mines secretary Vivek Bhardwaj on Monday held a meeting with his Rajasthan counterpart on preserving and promoting geo-heritage sites in the state.
Rajasthan has around 12 such well-known sites, one of which has already become a must-see destination in Jaisalmer. Today, the fossil park in Jaisalmer attracts a large number of tourists.
In fact, the state mines department has already had preliminary discussions on promoting potential geo-heritage sites like Ramgarh crater, which geologists believe was the result of a fall of a meteor millions of years ago.
ACS mines Subodh Agarwal said, “Rajasthan is rich not only in mineral resources but also in geo-heritage sites. We are looking at the potential of all these sites. While we will preserve all of them, we would like to develop the potential sites as tourist spots. Already, the fossil park in Jaisalmer is a mass-visited heritage site.”
The Centre is planning a scheme to encourage states to promote these sites. Bharadwaj said that the Centre has already prepared a draft and put it in the public domain for comments and suggestions.
Recently, two heritage stones from Rajasthan have been accorded the status of global heritage stones. Alwar’s quartzites and Jaisalmer’s limestone are now in the list of ten stones worldwide designated as global heritage stones by International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Earlier, Makrana marble was the only stone from India recognised by IUGS.
Bharadwaj was briefed about the developments in the mines sector in the state. Agarwal said out of 107 closed mines, 33 have been restarted, the licences of 26 others have been revoked, and they are being prepared for auction.
Issues like the problem of silicosis, lacunae in the existing policy and safety of mine workers were also discussed at the meeting.
Rajasthan has around 12 such well-known sites, one of which has already become a must-see destination in Jaisalmer. Today, the fossil park in Jaisalmer attracts a large number of tourists.
In fact, the state mines department has already had preliminary discussions on promoting potential geo-heritage sites like Ramgarh crater, which geologists believe was the result of a fall of a meteor millions of years ago.
ACS mines Subodh Agarwal said, “Rajasthan is rich not only in mineral resources but also in geo-heritage sites. We are looking at the potential of all these sites. While we will preserve all of them, we would like to develop the potential sites as tourist spots. Already, the fossil park in Jaisalmer is a mass-visited heritage site.”
The Centre is planning a scheme to encourage states to promote these sites. Bharadwaj said that the Centre has already prepared a draft and put it in the public domain for comments and suggestions.
Recently, two heritage stones from Rajasthan have been accorded the status of global heritage stones. Alwar’s quartzites and Jaisalmer’s limestone are now in the list of ten stones worldwide designated as global heritage stones by International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Earlier, Makrana marble was the only stone from India recognised by IUGS.
Bharadwaj was briefed about the developments in the mines sector in the state. Agarwal said out of 107 closed mines, 33 have been restarted, the licences of 26 others have been revoked, and they are being prepared for auction.
Issues like the problem of silicosis, lacunae in the existing policy and safety of mine workers were also discussed at the meeting.
