Kolkata: The West Bengal government has floated a global tender for Deocha Pachami, Asia's largest and the world's second-largest coal block, ahead of the eighth edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) slated for February 5-6 in Kolkata. This move reinforced Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's focus on coal production from the block when the state is planning to extract coal from 3400 acres of land despite opposition from locals earlier.
According to the state government, if this project is implemented, the state will receive an investment of Rs 35,000 crore and at least one lakh people will be benefited. There will be the opening of employment avenues for youth in the state. The global tender, which is based on the geological report, was called on December 20. West Bengal Power Development Corporation is looking for applications by February 3. Under her instructions, state chief secretary Manoj Pant rushed to Birbhum and took all the necessary steps to clear roadblocks for implementation of this ambitious project project. Apart from Pan, Power secretary Shantanu Basu was among the top officials present at the meeting.