Undoubtedly, industries sector in the State has lagged far behind in making a valuable contribution towards the economic development of the State. This area has been a victim of negligence, slackness and apathy. It is only now that authorities have begun to rivet attention on this sector in the hope that it will contribute stoutly to the economic health of the State.
We have the J&K Minerals Ltd. a public undertaking which has been granted permission for exploration and exploitation of mineral wealth of the State. So far no minerals that would strongly contribute to the economic health of the State have been explored and exploited. This may take time because it is not that easy to identify which mineral is deposited where. Nevertheless, some minerals have been identified to be extant at certain places in the State. In district Kishtwar, we have sapphire mines in Paddar area. It is a distant place not easily accessible.
More than three years ago in 2013, it was decided to invite intentional tenders for the exploration and exploitation of sapphire mines in Paddar. From the tentative reports of the J&K Minerals Ltd. the Paddar sapphire is of high quality in colour and transparency. It can easily compete and excel sapphires found elsewhere in the world. But the J&K Minerals have no idea about the quantum of sapphire available in the extant mines. For this purpose and also for proper exploitation, assistance from international bidders was thought to be the right way and tenders were floated. Three years and half have passed and still the floating of international tender has not reached logical conclusion. We understand that the process of finalising the international bids is a very complex matter but in the case of Paddar sapphires the matter has got stuck up in the labyrinth of official routine. Additionally, the lackadaisical attitude of the functionaries of the J&K Minerals Ltd. is also contributing to inordinate and indefinite delay in the exploration and exploitation process.
People of the area of Kishtwar think that even the PDP-BJP Coalition Government does not evince any interest in the development of the backward area of Kishtwar. Exploration and exploitation of Paddar sapphire mines would have salutary impact on the economy of the region and would also provide employment to many youth in the region. Amusingly, till date the Request For Proposal (RFP) has not been formulated for circulation among the shortlisted parties for the purpose of obtaining final bid to facilitate selection of joint venture partner.
Apart from the sapphire mines in Paddar, we would like to say that J&K Minerals needs to expand as well as intensify its activities of exploring other minerals in different parts of the State. In that sense it is a virgin state because it has remained unexplored. The Government should shun apathy towards this sector and make adequate allocations in the annual budget so that the task of exploring more mineral sites can be undertaken. In particular search for coal, gas and copper should be intensified. It should be among the plan of mineral explorations to invite expert companies from abroad to investigate existence of various metals and minerals in the mountains and plains of the State. In short the necessary boost to mineral wealth of the State needs to be given.
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