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October 29, 2015

Lead role for Bengal in new company to mine Birbhum coal

Lead role for Bengal in new company to mine Birbhum coal

Bengal today led the creation of a new coal company nearly two centuries after it pioneered coal mining in India.

Bengal Birbhum Coalfields, where the state has the largest share, held its first board meeting in the city today, kicking off the process of tapping into arguably one of the bigger coal mines of the country.

The company plans to mine coal from the blocks which have an estimated reserves of around 2 billion tonnes. Bengal will have a 28 per cent share of the total production pie, the largest among all.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the name of the company on Twitter and also posted on Facebook: “Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Ltd (BBCL), a new baby is born today. The new company will develop India’s largest coal mine in Deocha-Pachami, Birbhum, which is estimated to have more than 2 billion tonnes of coal. The mine will supply coal to the power plants in Bengal and other states. Lakhs and lakhs of employment will be created and socio-economic infrastructure of the region will change radically, giving a huge boost to the economy and large benefits to the people.”

Mamata Banerjee’s tweets: