About 35 villagers, who are residing in the project area, need to be rehabilitated.
Work on the first phase of the Deucha Panchami Coal block in Birbhum will start after Durga puja after the villagers living on the project land are rehabilitated, state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said on his visit today.
About 35 villagers, who are residing in the project area, need to be rehabilitated. The area concerned is spread over 3500 acres.
So far, the local people were against the project, fearing they would lose their land. The state chief secretary today held a meeting with the families who will be displaced due to the project. It was decided that all these villagers will be rehabilitated first, and then work of the coal mine excavation will start.
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“I have spoken to about 40 families and assured them of rehabilitation and resettlement by the state government. Post Durga Puja, the project work will start phasewise. Within one year, coal production is expected to start,” Mr Rajiva Sinha added.
Moumita Goadara Basu, district magistrate of Birbhum and SP of Birbhum, Shyam Singh were also present in the meeting. The mentor of Zilla Parishad of Birbhum and Adivasi Gaonta leadership were also present.
The Deucha Panchami block has the world’s second coal reserve in Birbhum’s Mohammad Bazar block to the West Bengal Government.
The project has also received a no-objection certificate from the union ministry of environment. The coal block has a reserve of 2.1 billion tonnes. However, it has a thick layer which has made it less lucrative for other major coal mining players in the country including Coal India Limited (CIL).
The coal mining project is expected to be the biggest industrial project before the assembly polls, next year, for the Mamata Banerjee government.
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