Jaipur: The State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority granted environmental approval to 12 mines in the Bansi Paharpur area in Bharatpur district from where pink sandstone is being supplied for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, officials said. Environmental approval for another 12 mines will be granted by mid-July, said ACS (mines and petroleum), Subodh Agarwal.
The pink sandstone which is extracted from these mines is being used in the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, so the approval will ensure an adequate supply of stones for the temple construction. Recently, auctions were held for the mine blocks and 41 applicants were given leases. Bansi Paharpur mines are located in the vicinity of Band Baretha Wildlife Sanctuary in Bharatpur.
Earlier, mining was prohibited in the area because of the wildlife sanctuary. But since the pink stones are preferred for the construction of temples, illegal mining continued. First Block A and B, Sukhasila and Kot area were taken out of Bandh Baretha Wildlife Sanctuary area and after that, the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change of the Central Government has allocated forest land for mining of mineral sandstone.
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After getting first-level approval from the Government of India, the state's Mines Department prepared mining blocks for the auctions. In fact, the center had given its approval to convert 398 hectares of protected forest land into revenue land so that legal mining can take place and the stones sourced from the block can be used for the construction of the Ram temple.
