LOCATION JUSTIFICATION REPORT

1.0 INTRODUCTION OF THE MINING PROJECT This is a Marble Mining Project of Shri Amit Modi, lessee of this M.L. 85/2005, Area 1.00 Ha., N/v- Dunkar, Tehsil-Bidasar, District-Chomu, .

Table No. 1

S.No. Item Details 1. Name of the QL Marble Mining Project (M.L. No. – 85/2005, Area – 1.54 ha.) Near village – Dunkar, Tehsil- Bidasar, District – Churu (Rajasthan) by Shri Amit Modi 2. Location / site (GPS Co-ordinates) Pillar Latitude Longitude

FRP 27° 46’ 58.20” N 74° 19’54.20” E

X 27° 46’ 52.37” N 74° 19’50.97” E

Y 27° 46’ 46.57” N 74° 19’49.75” E

A 27° 46’ 46.74” N 74° 19’48.76” E

B 27° 46’ 44.29” N 74° 19’47.77” E

C 27° 46’ 45.05” N 74° 19’43.29” E

D 27° 46’ 47.49” N 74° 19’44.27” E

Size of the Mining Lease 3. 1.00 Ha. (Hectare) 4. Capacity of Mining Lease (TPA) Proposed production Capacity is 9130 TPA

5. Period 26 Years

6. Expected cost of the Project 40 lakh A-117, JANATA COLONY, , 7. Contact Information RAJASTHAN, PIN CODE – 302004 Inland, coastal, marine or 8. None underground waters 9. State, National boundaries None Areas containing important, high None quality or scarcer sources 10. (ground water resources, surface resources, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, minerals) 11. Areas susceptible to natural The area comes in seismic zone-II (Low hazard which could cause the Damage Risk Zone) of seismic zoning map of project top resentencing & Rajasthan. ornamental problems (earthquakes, subsidence, landslides, erosion, flooding or extreme or adverse climatic conditions) Is proposed mining site None located over or near fissure 12. / fracture for ground water recharge Whether the proposal involves Tal Wildlife Sanctuary is location in 10 approval or clearance under the km radius of the lease area. following Regulations or Acts, The Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is about 8.50 km namely:- from mine lease area. (a) The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; 13. (b) The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; (c) The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011. If yes, details of the same and their status to be given. 14. Forest land involved (hectares) None Whether there is any litigation None pending against the project and/or land in which the Project is propose to be set up? 15. (a) Name of the Court (b) Case No. (c) Orders or directions of the Court, if any, and its relevance with the proposed Project.

Fig. No. 1 Location Map

2.0 INTRODUCTION OF THE PROTECTED AREA Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is a sanctuary located in the of North western Rajasthan in the region of India. It is known for blackbucks and is also home to a variety of birds. The sanctuary is 210 km from Jaipur on the fringe of the Great Indian Desert and situated on road from Ratangarh to . The Tal Chhapar sanctuary lies in the Sujangarh Tehsil of Churu District. It lies on the Nokha-Sujangarh state highway and is situated at a distance of 85 km from Churu and about 132 km from . The nearest railway station is Chappar which lies on Degana-Churu-Rewari line of North Western Railways. The nearest airport is Jaipur which is 215 km from Chappar.

Tal Chhapar is a refuge of the blackbuck.

GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY The sanctuary is named after Chhapar village which is located at 27°-50' North and 74°-25' East. It is a flat saline depression locally known as a "tal" that has a unique ecosystem in the heart of the Thar Desert. Perched at a height of 302 meters (990 feet) above sea level. Tal Chhaper Sanctuary, with almost flat tract and interspersed shallow low-lying areas, has open grassland with scattered Acacia and Prosopis trees which give it an appearance of a typical savanna. The word "tal" means plane land. The rain water flows through shallow low-lying areas and collect in the small seasonal water ponds.

The geology of the zone is obscured by the windblown over-burden. Some small hillocks and exposed rocks of slate and quartzite are found in the western side of the sanctuary. The area between hillocks and the sanctuary constitutes the watershed area of the sanctuary. The whole sanctuary used to be flooded by water during the heavy rains but with salt mining going on in the watershed, hardly any rain falling on the hillocks reaches the sanctuary. Nearby villages are Jogalia, Jaitasar, Bidasar.

FLORA & FAUNA The forest of this region falls under major group “Tropical Forest” as per classifications of Indian forests by Champion & Seth. The forest of sanctuary area again falls under the group “Topical Thorn Forest” and sub group 6B/C “Desert Thorn Forests”. The sanctuary area is mostly covered by grasses with a very few trees. It lies on the passageway of many migratory birds such as harriers. These birds pass through this area during September. Birds commonly seen in the sanctuary are harriers, eastern imperial eagle, tawny eagle, short-toed eagle, sparrow, and little green bee- eaters, black ibis and demoiselle cranes, which stay till March. Skylarks, crested larks, ring doves, and brown doves are seen throughout the year. [3] Desert fox and desert cat can also be spotted along with typical avifauna such as partridge and sand grouse.

Tal Chappar Sanctuary comes alive with the chirping of various migratory birds including Montagur's, marsh harrier, pale harrier, imperial eagle, tawny eagle, short toed eagle, sparrow hawk, skylark, crested lark, ring drove, brown dove, blue jay, southern grey shrike, indian spotted creeper, green bee eaters, black ibis and demoiselle cranes.

In the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, a special type of grass is found. This grass is called Mothiya locally. The word "Mothiya" comes come from the word "Moti" or from the word for pearl. The shape of the seed of this grass is like very fine round shaped pearls. Mothiya has a very sweet taste. People enjoy eating it, but it is found in very small quantities. Production is only a few kilograms every season. Mothiya is also food for blackbucks and birds which dig it from earth with their starks

CLIMATE This region is characterized by a distinct winter (from October to February), summer (March to June) and monsoon (July to September). The zone has a dry climate with large variation in temperature wind blows south – west during summer. In May and June winds become very hot and that is called "loo" The maximum temperature reaches up to 48 °C (118 °F) in June and the minimum temperature falls to 10 °C (50 °F) in December – January. The Tal Chhapar Zone comes under the principal arid zone of the country. Rainfall in this region is highly erratic. There is large variation in mean annual rainfall in this region. Average rainfall in this region is about 300 mm.

CONCLUSION Mine Lease Area is Located 8.5 km far from Tal Chhapar Sanctuary. So there is no any protected area falls in Mining lease.

Fig. No. 2