Work begins at Bengal’s Deocha Pachami coal mining project

Representative image
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI

Work on the Deocha Pachami Coal Mining project in West Bengal’s Birbhum district began on Thursday (February 6, 2025) with basalt mining or primary cleaning of land.

The move by Birbhum District administration came a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced at Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) that mining at the project site will start from February 7 (Thursday).

Birbhum District Magistrate Bidhan Ray, who arrived at the site of operations along with other officials at Chanda Mouza of Mohammad Bazar block, said that work has started on 12 acres of land, which is vested with the State government and thus no land acquisition is required. The DM said that basalt at the site has to be cleared first for mining the coal as the coal reserve lies under a thick layer of basalt.

“The coal mine which will be operational in the first phase will be underground,” he said. Mr. Ray said that the trees will be translocated and a primary school near the site will be shifted.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that Deocha Pachami is the second largest coal block in the world with a reserve of 1,240 million tonnes of coal and 675 MT of basalt that is expected to be mined.

The DM said that registration of workers who will be engaged in the mining work is going on at the local BDO office. He assured that people who have agreed to give up land will get benefits as compensation has been announced by the West Bengal government. He also added that jobs will be given to those who give up their land.

A section of landowners expressed anger and raised slogans on Thursday morning as the mining work was about to start for the project. They demanded that they be given jobs.

On the issue of protests, the DM said, “Many mothers and sisters have come. They are happy. Those who submitted their applications first will get the benefits first. Those who submitted them later will get them later. When the mine is completed, only local residents will get work. Every household will get work.”

Along with the District Magistrate, Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam was also present at the site and said that work was going on smoothly.

‘No forcible land acquisition’

Initially the State government had plans to start basalt mining on 376 acres of the project area. However, it was found that around 50 acres of land was yet to be acquired by the State government.

Mining of basalt is considered the first major step towards making the coal mine functional as the coal reserve at Deocha-Pachami lies under a thick layer of basalt. In the project area, where the first phase of work will be carried out, the thickness of basalt is between 100 metres and 350 metres.

The  ₹35,000 crore project is considered the biggest project of the West Bengal government. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had assured that there would be no forcible land acquisition.

Under the revised relief and rehabilitation (R&R) package announced in March 2022, a person having land in the area will get double its market value along with 100% solatium as land cost ( i.e. around ₹13 lakh per bigha).

“Built-up area of the individual houses to be provided to all families [along with separate houses for all adult members of the family] has been increased from 600 sqft to 700 sqft. Compensation in lieu of built-up houses [for those who will opt for money] has been increased from ₹5 lakh per family to ₹7 lakh,” the government document had said.