Tuesday, May 07, 2002
Tuesday, May 07, 2002 |
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Karnataka
By T.V.Sivanandan
Except for the tapping of the rich limestone deposits in some pockets of the district and granite, the other natural resources such as quartz, gypsum, Fuller's earth, and some minor minerals have not been exploited fully. Proper use of these natural resources could immensely benefit the State. The Government cannot be blamed for the situation. Gulbarga District has the highest number of migratory labourers, and every year drought or excess rainfall plays havoc on the lives of the people. The lack of enterprise among the local entrepreneurs is to be blamed for the industrial backwardness of the district. Failure to shift from traditional industries by tapping the natural resources has been cited as one of the major reasons for the sickness in the industrial sector. The sops offered by the Governments were only used for setting up traditional industries such as stone-polishing units. Even in agro-based sector, only dal mills thrived to some extent while other units involved in edible oil extraction have either closed or are under loss. The subsidies offered by the Government were not used to produce quality glass by using the quartz available or set up refinery units to process the Fuller's earth. Although there are units to excavate the rich raw materials such as gypsum, Fuller's earth, and other minor minerals, there are no gypsum or Fuller's earth-based industries. Better utilisation of raw materials would not only have resulted in opening up employment opportunities to the people of the region, but also helped in rejuvenating the economy of the district. Except for a unit to produce glass out of quartz in Yadgir, there is no gypsum or Fuller's earth unit in the district. The gypsum found in large quantities in Chitapur, Gulbarga, Jewargi, and Surpur taluks is used mainly by cement plants and by fertilizer-based companies. The annual estimated production of gypsum in the district is over 2.55 lakh tonnes. Official sources told The Hindu that good quality quartz reefs stained with iron compounds were found in Yadgir and Surpur taluks, and the material obtained from some of these reefs were being used for making sheet glass in Mumbai. The total estimated deposit of quartz in Gulbarga was estimated to be one million tonnes, and the present annual production of quartz was only 4,500 tonnes. The sources said Fuller's earth, which is used as a decolourising agent in the production of vegetable and mineral oils, was available in abundance in Chincholi taluk, but there was not a single unit in the district to refine it. The raw material in the form of crude earth was exported to Mumbai and other parts of the country for refining and supplying it to oil units. According to an estimate, the total deposits of Fuller's earth in Sulepeth, Chinmaidalai, and Korvi circles of Chincholi taluk covers an area of about 45 sq. km. The deposits are said to be about 1.4 million tonnes, and their annual production was only 4,200 tonnes per annum. The district also has good deposits of granite and copper. Although private operators are involved in granite exploitation, copper deposits, estimated at about five million tonnes in Surpur taluk, are yet to be touched. The National Industries Development Corporation, which conducted a survey to identify the industrial potential of Gulbarga District, has said the district was best suited for setting up oil refinery plants, agro-based industries, poultry feed plants, a modern slaughterhouse with a leather tanning unit, pharmaceutical units, and steel foundries. But industrialists have not shown interest in any of these units. The proposal mooted by the Reliance Group of Companies sometime ago to establish an agro-based unit in Anur village in Chitapur taluk in 5,000 acres of land has also not materialised.
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