Farmers to get permits to remove layer of mineral gypsum: Dr Subodh

Jaipur: Online permits will be issued to farmers to remove the layer of gypsum for land reclamation in the state. Additional Chief Secretary Mines Dr Subodh Agrawal said that instructions have been given to start the process of obtaining online permit applications from this month for issuing leases for lifting gypsum layer to the farmers.

Separate orders will be issued for obtaining permit applications for issuance of leases of mineral gypsum in Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts.In view of the excessive use of mineral gypsum in agriculture, Mines Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya had recently stressed on the need for simplification of process and issue of permit proceedings at the earliest. ACS Mines said that Rajasthan has the largest deposits of gypsum in the country, as well as increasing the production of pulses, oilseeds and wheat, gypsum is mainly used as alkaline soil reclamation and soil nutrient.He informed that there are reserves of more than 1,000 million tonnes of gypsum in Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Churu and Nagaur districts of the state.

Mining of gypsum up to three meters below the surface is considered a non-mining activity as the gypsum mineral is generally superficial.