Dungarpur : Dungarpur district situated in Dakshinanchal of the state also holds its own in the entire state as a soap stone of excellent quality. The soap stone extracted from the mines here is the first choice of the entrepreneurs of Gujarat and through Gujarat this soap stone reaches the entire country. Till about a decade ago, the government was getting royalties worth billions and trillions of rupees from the soap stone extracted from southern Rajasthan. But, due to the policies of the government, the mines here have reached the verge of closure. If the government makes efforts and the age-old demands of the mine owners are quickly resolved, then the mine owners can give a new identity to Southern Rajasthan by setting up a processing unit here.
The royalty revenue of the district is not even half.
If we look at the data of Mineral Department, there are 28 mines of soap stone in Dungarpur district. An area of 900 hectares has been reserved in it. But, at present soap-stone mining work is being done in only 21 mines. The remaining mines are closed. Talking about the revenue from soap stone mines, the revenue in the year 2021-22 was Rs 7 crore 95 lakh 23 thousand 914. At the same time, in the year 2022-23, revenue of Rs 8 crore 32 lakh 27 thousand 779 was earned. But, due to the government imposing royalty rates and uniform rate on all three grades of soap-stone, the revenue was reduced to more than half. In the year 2023-24, the government received revenue of only Rs 2 crore 57 lakh 68 thousand 71 from the district.
below cost price
Mine owners say that the government allotted the mines. The mine owners spent lakhs of rupees and installed machinery on this. Everything was fine for a few years. Due to low rates, the soap stone produced from here was directly sold to the factories in Gujarat. But, the government started taking royalty on paper grade even on Khareda grade. Whereas, in Southern Rajasthan, the grade of soapstone is very low and it is hardly available. The government should revise the rate of Khareda grade soap-stone obtained from the mines of Vagad. At present the situation is such that the mine owners have to spend more than the price at which Khareda grade is sold in Gujarat. In such a situation, mine owners are not showing interest in mining after incurring losses.
The state government is organizing Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit in Jaipur regarding industrial development in the state.
Investments from the state, country and abroad are participating in this. Mine owners say that if the government solves the local problems of local entrepreneurs, then the local entrepreneurs should set up small units. By promoting local entrepreneurs, more and more employment will also be created. At the same time, industry can also be set up in the areas of mineral mines. This will also accelerate the race for development of the region.
