West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday inaugurated the Deocha Pachami Dewanganj Harinsingha Coal Fields in Birbhum district that promises jobs for one lakh people with a proposed investment of Rs.22,000 crore.
Inaugurating the project - a joint venture between West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Ltd. and the Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Ltd., Banerjee said it would be the largest coal block in the country with coal reserves of around 21,000 million tonnes.
The extracted coal would be used for power generation in West Bengal and other states.
'Over one lakh people will get employment as a result of the Rs 22000 crore project,' she said.
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Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Ltd (BBCL) is a special purpose vehicles to develop the Deocha Pachami Dewanganj Harinsingha coal block where six states - West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh - and Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) have shares. Bengal's shareholding is the largest at 28 percent.
Bengal is expected to get the biggest share of the coal - 584 million tonne - from the block.