Environmental Issues of Marble Industry - Overview of Rajasthan

Irrespective of the genetic, technical and commercial terms marble can be defined as a shining stone after Marmar (in Latin) and marmarous (in Greek) or representing crystalline rich rocks that can be polished. The world famous Taj Mahal and Victoria Memorial are built of marble produced from the mines of Makrana (Rajasthan). Ten types of marble on the basis of colour variation have been identified which are Plain white, Panther white, White veined, Plain black, Black Zebra, Brown, Green, Pink Adanga, Pink and Grey. The total reserves of marble are 1100 million tonnes in Rajasthan out of the country’s total reserve of 1200 million tonnes ( Bohra, 2000 ). The ever increasing popularity of the marble of Rajasthan, growing demand for finished and unfinished products, discovery of new marble deposits and growing private and public supports have led to a significant growth in marble industry of this state. As a result, number of marble quarries as well as marble processing units have significantly gone up mainly during last one decade.