Marble Mining and Processing in Southern Rajasthan, Impact on the Environment leading to Degradation of the Aravalis

Marble Mining and Processing in Southern Rajasthan, Impact on the Environment leading to

Degradation of the Aravalis

Presented byBhomik Shah

[email protected]

Overview

IntroductionContext of the Aravalis & Marble MiningObjective of the StudyMining & Processing in the Study AreaMethodologyBusiness & Economic ScenarioEmployment OpportunitiesTribal DevelopmentImpact on the EnvironmentDegradation of the AravalisWhat can be doneEnergy saving and Renewable EnergyConclusion

Introduction

Greek root “Mamaros”

Technically: recrystallised variety of limestone

It has 66% of the country’s marble reserves

Rajasthan produces 85-95% of India’s total marble production

Tajmahal : Makrana (Rajasthan) marble

Context of the Aravalis and Marble Mining

The Aravalis is most ancient mountain chain of peninsular India

One of the oldest geological formations of the world

Stretch of 615 kms from Delhi –Haryana-Rajasthan –

Gujarat 50,000 sq. kms area

A rich source of minerals

Aravalis

Context of the Aravalis and Marble Mining

Mining is second only to agriculture as the world’s oldest Industry

Stone Age , Bronze age and Iron Age

Marble mining is an open caste surface mining

Use of heavy machinery, huge manpower, fuel and energy

Objective of the study

To find the economics of marble industry and its impact on tribal

To assess socio-economic impacts and employment scenario

To assess environmental impacts in the context of the Aravalis

To find cause effect relationship between marble mining and degradation of the Aravalis

Marble Mining & Processing in the Study Area

The study area is three dist. Of Raj: Udaipur, Rajsamand and Banswara, Collectively Udaipur Zone

Geographically forming Southern most part of the State and tailing end of the Aravalis

23°30’ N to 28°39N latitude and 74°24 E to 75°33 E longitude


First marble mine in 1955 (Current total 1574) till 1980 only 9 mines, thereafter Geometrical progression

up to 1980

1981-85 1986-90 1991-95 1996-00 after 2000

9 31

199

545

454

336

Increase in number of Mines

Methodology

Marble is found on vast horizontal area Cluster mining Mining belt development

Three mining belt, one from each district was chosen:

Rishabdeo-Obri belt (Udaipur)-159 leases Rajanagar-Kelwa belt (Rajsamand) 239 leases Tripura-Sundari belt ( Banswara) 170 leases

Methodology

A sample size of 30 households from each mining belt A sample size of 30 workers from each mining belt

Two survey questionnaires were prepared in Hindi One for workers, other for households For household survey male above 40 years of age For workers no age criteria, mix age group


Total area under mine leases is 1805 sq. hectares

Marble processing Industry:Marble gang saw (350)Marble tiling (40)Marble arts and craft (35 Major)

Business and economic Scenario

in 1950 total marble prod. of Raj: 17620 tones, revenue 1.17 lakh

Now the study area only produces 4.74 million (2006-7) tones

Annual royalty of Rs. 920 million (2006-7)

Business sales of Rs.4,527 million (2006-7)

Excluding business done by arts and crafts and allied sectors

Employment Generation

A single mine employs 20-30 workers depending upon lease size, most of them are labour class

A single gang saw employs 20-22 workers

Total employment around 37000

More than 50% are local, rest emigrants from UP, Bihar and MP

Unskilled/semi-skilled/skilled labour-wage rates varies

Employment Generation

Workers survey : basic outcome:

61.1% local No female employment Wages paid below govt. rates Average annual working days 270-300 Lowest wage rate Rs.96 per shift Local workers as unskilled or semi skilled Emigrants from other states get higher wagesAverage wages(Shift) Rs. Local: 104, Emigrants 187

Marble Mining and Tribal Development

Pre-mining phase:

Were depend upon agriculture and cattle rearing No transportation facilities No easy access to health, education and other basic

amenities Disguised employmentNo cash in hand Land mortgage or selling only resort in emergency


Post-mining phase:

No more depend upon agriculture or cattle rearing Web of roads, transportation facilities Easy access to health, education and other amenities Opening of employment opportunities Agriculture as secondary occupation Additional family income Increased purchasing power


Household Survey: basic Outcomes1.14 person per household employed in marble mining

industry Rs. 3556 monthly incomeAgriculture as an extra supportMany people work in multiple shifts, additional income

Estimated cash inflow:670.07 million rupees annual cash inflow as wage earnings(assuming 285 days of employment)


Negative Impact

Orientation towards money and wage earnings Detachment from the nature, especially forests Detachment from their own customs and traditions Apathy towards decreasing forest cover and vegetation 86.66% people did not show any concern for forest Health hazards

Impact on the Environment

Mining implies selection, selection implies rejection Being opencast mining: requires topsoil & Vegetation

removal Unscientific mining method Heavy machinery Fuel consumption Water consumption Energy consumption Solid waste generation Heavy transportation


Geomorphic Disequilibrium:

Average depth of marble pit 20-30m

Marble pit with 40-50m depth

As lease area extends over 1805 sq. hectares: a huge volume

Blasting, chain pulling weaken internal rock structure

Disruption of geology

Geomorphic Disequilibrium:

Visible crevices on the hillocks of the Aravalis in Udaipur District

Crevices


Waste Overburden:

50% of the mineral is waste Vast area under dumping

sites 2.37 million tones of waste

generation, 1.42 million tones of solid waste annually

Artificial hillocks of solid marble waste


Waste Overburden: 1.28 million tones of marble slurryDischarging on barren lands or roadsidesHillocks of waste hillocks of waste are higher than the

Aravalis This solid waste composes hazardous components Loss of aesthetic beauty


Impact on Biodiversity:Flora: Deforestation on vast area Denuded Aravali hillocks Mining and waste-dumping

affected a lot Once very dense forested

land Now scattered vegetation Massive loss after 1990s

( Extreme Mining)


Degradation of Aravalis

Impact on Biodiversity:

Flora: One researcher from Honduras visited forests of the

Aravalis in 1987-88Found teak and bamboo as climax speciesToday no sign of both of these two species in this area Species like Zizyphus mauritiana and Phoenix sylvestrishave almost vanished Huge reduction in vegetation cover


Impact on Biodiversity:Fauna: Last panther in 1991 (Rishabdeo) Tripura- Sundari was heaven for Nilgai till 1991-92 Rajsamand lake attracted Saharan migratory bird

Decrease in vegetation Snatched home of wildlife species Noise: deflected birds, insects and butterflies species migrated from here created pressure on other

forests Natural control of population



Impact on Agriculture:

Dust particles layers on standing crop, on open fields Nearer the fields, more the dust layer Effect on health of the crop impact on soil texture Ultimately impact on productivity Gang saw unit also generates dust particles Scattered fields, small fields size Farmers do not weigh yield Increase in the salinity of the soil


Impact on Agriculture:

Parameter Belt A (Udaipur)Rishabdeo-obri

Belt B (Rajsamand)Rajanagar-Kelwa

Belt C (Banswara)Tripura-Sundari

Productivity Increasing/Decreasing

Decreasing(30) Decreasing(29) Don’t know(1)

Decreasing(29) Increasing(1)

Use of FertilizersIncreasing/Decreasing

Increasing(30) Increasing(29) Not Using(1)

Increasing(25) Not Using(3) Not Sure(2)

Use of Pesticides Increasing/Decreasing

Increasing(10) Not Using(20)

Increasing(07) Not Using(13) Same (5)

Increasing(03) Not Using(21) Same(6)

Seed QualityFrom previous crop/Market purchased

Market Purchased(23) Previous Crop(7)

Market Purchased (28) Previous Crop(2)

Market Purchased(25) Previous Crop(5)

Water Scarcity and Water Pollution:

Single marble gang saw consumes 43000 liters/hr water Udaipur zone has 350 such gang saw Per day water consumption (1shift) 120.4 million liters of

water Annual water consumption 34.314 billion liters of water Can fulfill annual water req. of 15 lakh Indians Marble mines also consume millions of liters of water Water scarcity problem Rajsamand groundwater lowered 7.6 m. b/w 1994-2004 Death of Banas and Gomati rivers


Water Scarcity and Water Pollution: Waste disposal near

water bodies Discharge of slurry in

water bodies Gang saw located on

river sides in Rishabdeo belt

Reduction in storage capacity and loss of aquatic life


Fuel and Energy Consumption: Heavy machinery require fuel

Equipments require electricity

One gang saw unit consumes 45kwh elect

Annual elect. consumption by marble mining in Raj. is 1500 MW annually (PWC project based calculation)


What Can be Done

Use of advanced technology Discarding unscientific methods: Blasting. Rope and

bucket Use of marble slurry in brick manufacturing and toy

making Limiting the max. depth of marble pit Proper discharge of waste and slurry Green belt development Restoration of abandoned mines

Saving Energy & use of Renewable Energy

Replacing worn out pumps, motors and machinery Switching from analog to digital control of equipments Adopting Variable Speed Drive(VSD) in motorized

equipments which will save apprx. 400-500MW annually Laser-scanning and digital photogrammetric technology Solar energy usage in tiling plants, where energy needs

are low Use of Photovoltaic (PV)solar system ( in China) Use of Geothermal energy in mining (South Australia) Use of biomass powered electricity (Brazil)

Conclusion

Alarming situation in the mining areas Total degradation of Aravalis Need to take action Participatory approach Need based mining Energy efficient mining

Thanks

Education

Marble Mining and Processing in Southern Rajasthan, Impact on the Environment leading to Degradation of the Aravalis