THE Odisha state government of India has recently decided to revise the gemstone policy in a bid to increase revenue from unexplored gemstone resources, according to Times of India. The new policy will promote exploration, mining, processing and trading of gemstones in the state.
“Odisha has a huge deposit of gemstones but does not have a proper mechanism in place to regulate the industry as a large amount of gemstones are being smuggled to other states. By streamlining the gemstone tracts with proper policy guidelines, the government can earn revenue of over Rs 50 crore a year," said steel and mines minister Prafulla Mallik.
The state has a huge variety of gemstones such as agate, almadine, apatite, aquamarine, cat's eye, emerald, ruby, sapphire, topaz, moonstone and beryl. These gemstones are found in 28 gemstone tracts in Angul, Boudh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Koraput, Nuapada, Rayagada and Sambalpur districts.
It is said there are loopholes in the previous policies. Farmers or villagers who found gemstones sell it privately at cheap prices to middlemen who re-sell them at higher prices to big traders. Such transactions deprive the gemstone finder of getting a proper price and government of royalty.
Odisha was the first Indian state to formulate the gemstone policy in 1994, which was revised in 1998.
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