Ram temple wants particular stone, so Rajasthan to free wildlife sanctuary land

Over 1 lakh cubic ft of Bansi Paharpur sandstone, coveted for its distinctive pink shade, has already been sourced because the unique materials for the development of the Ram temple in Ayodhya the place stockpiling started quickly after the shilanyas in 1989.

Though on paper no mining was allowed after 2016, unlawful operations continued — and the Bansi Paharpur sandstone remained obtainable within the gray market. Nonetheless, the provision has apparently dried up for the reason that Bharatpur administration seized 25 vans loaded with illegally mined pink sandstone in Bansi Paharpur on September 7.

Following the raid, functionaries of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Ayodhya warned in opposition to blocking the provision of pink sandstone. “We needed the Congress authorities in Rajasthan to know that constructing the temple is the nation’s work. An answer has been discovered each time an obstruction got here in its method. We are going to welcome any transfer to legalise the Bansi Paharpur mines,” Sharad Sharma, VHP’s regional spokesperson in Ayodhya, informed The Indian Categorical.

In a communication marked “most pressing” on October 23, Rajasthan’s joint secretary (mines) O P Kasera requested the Director, Mines, to use for denotifying the Bansi Paharpur block on the Union Ministry’s Parivesh portal as a matter of “highest precedence”. Kasera declined to touch upon what prompted the state authorities’s transfer.

Requested if the mines had been being legalised to facilitate the provision of pink sandstone to Ayodhya, Bharatpur District Justice of the Peace Nathmal Didel mentioned, “There’s nothing in writing on supplying stone for any specific” objective. “This stone is in excessive demand all around the nation, and the choice has been taken after a joint survey by the income, mines and forest departments,” he mentioned.

However the state forest division claims it’s but to weigh in. “We now have not provided any view on the matter. The mining division has to find out the bottom on which the denotification software is being filed. We are going to then look into it for forest and wildlife clearances,” mentioned Sreya Guha, principal secretary, forest and setting, Rajasthan.

The groundwork is on the ultimate stage in Bharatpur. “We now have carried out a joint survey of the 556 hectares in query with the forest division and are within the means of submitting the applying for denotification,” P S Meena, superintending mining engineer answerable for Bharatpur circle, informed The Indian Categorical.

Whereas the 199-sq-km Band Baretha wildlife sanctuary was notified in 1985, sandstone mines have been operational within the space for the reason that Sixties. “Unlawful mining has been rampant as our pink sandstone fetches extra — Rs 500 per cubic ft — than the crimson sandstone of Dholpur. Be it the elephant statues throughout Uttar Pradesh or the Ram temple, that is the stone in demand,” mentioned Dilip Singh Rathore, who claimed he owns the one “authorized mine which was compelled to close down in 2016 as a result of ban”.

For the reason that Nineteen Nineties, an meeting of artisans has been engaged on pink sandstone blocks sourced from Bansi Paharpur mines within the VHP’s workshop in Karsevakpuram, Ayodhya.

“Between 40% and 45% of carving work for the bottom flooring is full. We now have already sourced round 1.1 lakh cubic ft of an estimated 3.5-4 lakh cubic ft of sandstone that the temple would require after the enlargement in its plan,” mentioned VHP’s Sharma.

“This (Bansi Paharpur) is the king of sandstone. So mixing this with different varieties with crimson dots and contours shouldn’t be aesthetically possible. If there’s not sufficient provide, the one possibility is to change to a special stone altogether,” mentioned Ashish Sompura, one of many architects who’ve designed the temple.

Nripendra Mishra, chairman of the Ram temple development committee, mentioned the difficulty of provide of sandstone from Rajasthan has not come up earlier than the panel.