BANGALORE: Mines and Textiles Secretary Mahendra Jain on Saturday called upon the granite industry to take steps to minimise the environmental damage caused by quarrying. "Ensuring that the industry's products are ethically sourced, without causing any damage to the environment and no child labour is employed, would add to the Unique Selling Proposition of the industry," he said.

At the valedictory of "Stona 2006," the 7th international granites and stone fair organised jointly by the All-India Granites and Stone Association and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) here, Mr. Jain said in the international markets, the big players were particular about where the products were sourced. Making sure that the products had not damaged the environment would make them more marketable, he said.

Chairperson and Managing Director of Mysore Minerals Ltd. Jija Hari Singh said the granite business of the company had earned profits in the last two years. "Today, we have technology which minimises wastage at stages such as mining, cutting and polishing."

She said the industry and artisans should not be seen as separate. "Let us integrate the two. At Mysore Minerals, as part of our corporate social responsibility, we are training women from the poorest of the poor around quarries on crafts. Recycling of quarry waste is one such initiative aimed at boosting the lives of these underprivileged sections," she said.

At estimated business of Rs. 425 million was generated during the international buyer-seller meet held as part of `Stona-2006,' according to the organisers. "It is expected that most these business contracts will be fructified into more business deals in due course," the organisers said.

Fifty international and 43 Indian firms participated in the meet, which featured over 150 one-to-one meetings between Indian and foreign firms. Various business proposals related to the export of granite and marble blocks, slabs and tiles, sandstone and slate to foreign countries were finalised. Issues related to introduction of new technologies were also discussed.

Participating companies were from Japan, France, Italy, Germany, the UAE, Taiwan, Russia, Spain, United States, Caribbean Islands, Venezuela, China, Denmark, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Indonesia, besides India.

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