- 4.1. The Gemstone Policy, 1994 did not achieve the desired results due to following reason :(i)Under the policy a poor farmer or villager getting a piece of gemstone could sell it only to OMC whose representatives are not readily accessible and who take their own time for assessment of value and payment. As such he preferred to sell it clandestinely at throw away price through a middle man who took it away and sold it at higher price at centres of gemstone trade. This transaction deprived the finder of a legitimate price for the gemstone and the Government of the royalty. The clandestine trade only benefited the middleman and lower level officials to the detriment of the finder and the Government.(ii)Large scale scientific and commercial exploitation of the gem-bearing areas through public or private sector did not take place. The only joint venture exploitating a limited lease-hold areas also did not achieve the desired results. Due to lack of exploitation of gem-bearing tracks, the State Government have not been able to benefit from this sector. In fact, the royalty received annually from gemstone is only of the order of Rs. 4.5 lakhs which can increase manifold through a rational policy of wide scale exploitation of gemstone-bearing areas.(iii)Lapidary units for cutting and polishing of gemstone which would have provided local value addition, large scale employment and income to the State Exchequer became a casualty of the policy. Under the preventing regime of clandestine extraction and illegal trading of gemstone, genuine entrepreneurs wanting raw materials for the lapidary units were completely starved. A few lapidary units that come up in the State closed down for want of raw-materials.4.2Accordingly the State Government, in 1996, formed a Committee under the Chairmanship of the Commissioner-cum-Secretary. Department of Steel & Mines to recommend measures for formulation of a new policy with the following objectives :(i)to ensure higher income for the State mining of gemstone and local lapidary units.(ii)to ensure greater employment through gemstone mining cutting and polishing activities.(iii)to stop clandestine extraction and trading and ensure higher income to Government and poor villagers.(iv)to ensure transparency in the matter of grant of lease/licence for extraction and trading of gemstones.
