Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Ltd (BBCL), the special purpose vehicle created to develop India's largest coal mine in Deocha-Pachami at Birbhum district, held its first board meeting here today.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in social media said, "Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Ltd (BBCL), a new baby is born today."
The block had been offered jointly to West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), and a joint venture company for mining coal was formed.
Deocha Pachami coal block is the largest coal block in the country with 2,102 million tonne of coal in reserve.
West Bengal Power Minister Manish Gupta said Bengal will get the largest share of coal with 584 million tonne from the block, followed by Bihar with a share of 486 million tonne.
The SPV will develop India's largest coal mine in Deocha-Pachami by appointing a Mine Developer cum Operator.
"The first board meeting of the SPV was held today. Process for getting necessary clearances like forest, mining and others had been initiated," Gupta said.
Banerjee said the mine will supply coal to 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," Banerjee said in her post in the social media.
