Mumbai, 22nd May: The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), of India has criticized the move by some diamantaires in Surat to shift their Mumbai operations to the proposed Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) in Surat, reports The Times of India.

GJEPC chairman Vipul Shah said, “It is not the prerogative of 50 diamantaires to decide and win over others to shift their offices from Mumbai to Surat, without taking a larger consensus on it from those in the trade. All members of GJEPC should be consulted on such a move and the council could make a roadmap for the same.”

Shah added, “Mumbai is the financial centre of India and a gateway for trade and commerce. The industry has its presence in Surat when it comes to manufacturing of diamonds and trading. A committee of 30 people cannot decide the fate of the $43 billion industry.”

Asked whether Surat diamantaires had approached GJEPC on the issue of shifting, Shah said, “None of the diamantaires has contacted GJEPC on the issue of proposed diamond bourse at Surat.”

Meanwhile, Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai has convened a meeting of its members on May 23 to take stock of the situation, sources said. The BDB office-bearers will discuss the campaign of a few diamantaires from Surat to shift their operations from Mumbai.

“They are distributing forms to members of BDB and asking them to fill in their requirement of office space at the proposed bourse in Surat. We just want to ask these diamantaires spearheading the campaign to come out clean on the status of the bourse in Surat. These diamantaires had raised deposits from trade for setting up GHB many years ago, but nothing has been done till date,” an office-bearer of BDB said.