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West Bengal is rich in various mineral deposits. It has a coal reserve of around 31.67 billion tonnes. Other metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits have been located in various districts of West Bengal. In the Himalayan region, there are rich deposits of dolomite, talc and coal. Deposits of apatite, asbestos, china clay, fire clay, lime stone, silica sand, glass sand, graphite, and manganese ore are available in the districts of south Bengal like Midnapur, Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum, and West Burdwan.

With systematic planning and use of environmentally-safe mining technology, the state may establish a better position in the economic front. For example, if valuable rare earth material, titanium, available in the Salanpur area of West Burdwan district is mined, then IT and telephone industries may be benefitted immensely. Certainly, the extraction of such minerals will generate employment. Presently, in various open cast coal mines in Salanpur, titanium, which is found above the coal deposit, gets thrown out along with the overburden. This mineral is also found in Jhalda of the Purulia district. In some cases, in open cast mines, the fire clay strata above coal seams are punctured and removed with top soils and thus wasted. Fire clay deposits are generally associated with coal seams and found widely in the Raniganj coalfields of West Burdwan.

Extensive deposit of china clay - an essential element for the pottery industry – has been located in different parts of Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia, Midnapur, and Burdwan districts. Systematic extraction of minerals will open a new horizon in the respective area of operations in West Bengal.

The major contribution will come from mining of coal, which will not only lead towards sustainable economic growth of the state but also generate employment. Coal is available in abundance in West Bengal. With no significant breakthrough in tapping non-conventional energy sources in the foreseeable future and with limited petroleum resources, coal will be the prime energy source in the country.

The Deocha-Pachami in Birbhum - being the future of the second-largest coal block in the world - has taken the centre stage now. It could help the state in a big way once mining starts. The Bengal government is depending heavily on the Deocha-Pachami coal block - located in Birbhum’s Mohammed bazar.

 The coal block is spread over 11,222 acres and has an estimated coal reserve of around 2.2 billion tonnes. According to government estimates, the project can generate jobs for at least 1.5 lakh people. The proposed project has the potential to act as an engine of economic growth for the southern parts of Bengal.

About a decade ago the coal block was allotted to the public sector undertaking - Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL). In 2014, the centre reallocated the coal block to six states, including Bengal and also to a central public sector undertaking. The other stakeholders were Karnataka, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh Punjab and the PSU was Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam.

But work didn’t progress as the stakeholders did not show enough interest. The West Bengal government then wanted to take up the project alone. The central coal ministry allotted the block to Bengal. The state secured the Centre’s nod to allow the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) to mine coal in the block in 2015-16.

The block is under the control of the state but requires a series of measures before the mining can start. For starting a big coal project, the steps generally are as follows:

1) An environmental impact assessment (EIA) study after signing an MoU with the Centre.

 2) Once the EIA makes it clear that the project would not have a major adverse effect on environment.

3) Then a feasibility study has to be conducted.

4) If the feasibility study says mining of coal would be cost-effective, then global tenders can be floated to undertake mining.

In this project, roping in an international agency may be essential as no Indian company has the experience of mining coal from such a block, which has thick overhead stone layers. A thick seam of granite on the coal reserve in the block will slow down drilling for exploration.

However, the thick overhead stone layers up can be mined simultaneously with the exploration for commercial purposes as there is great demand for stone chips. The Union Cabinet’s decision to allow 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in mining could help.

The second major task is relocating the nearly 10,000 tribal people living in 35 hamlets spread across the project area in phases. The Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R & R) package needs to involve opinions and aspirations of the locals. The government must focus to ensure proper rehabilitation for the displaced people.

If coal is mined from the block, it will help the state’s power sector enormously. WBPDCL sources said if the mine gets operational, the power plants of Bengal would not face any shortage of coal for the next 70 years. Besides, the state can earn handsome amounts by selling off surplus coal to other states if mining is possible in the block. For all out economic growth, the state has to utilize the mineral resources by forming experienced team members to shape the future course of action, implementation of plans and its timely execution.

The writer is the former Director ( Personnel ) Coal Companies of Coal India. 

The opinion/s expressed in the article are that of the author’s and do not necessarily represent or reflect the policy or position of this magazine.