Trinamool accuses WB govt for illegal coal mining

Trinamool Congress today accused the Left Front-led West Bengal government for not being able to prevent unauthorised coal mining in the state.

Rampant unauthorised coal mining is going on in Raniganj and its adjoining areas, including Andal and Jamuria, in the state for decades, but in the rarest of the rare cases, the local police have taken steps to prevent such unauthorised mining of coal in the area, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said here.

Terming it as an organised loot of the national wealth, Banerjee said, "selling of such illegally mined coal is going on in open and the state government has not taken any step to stop it."

He said, "I have raised the issue in the Lok Sabha today through a supplementary question and I wanted to know whether government is really serious about preventing unauthorised coal mining in the state particularly in Asansol which comes under the direct control of the Eastern Coalfields Limited."

Trinamool MP from Sreerampur alleged that the officers of Eastern Coalfields are involved in such illegal mining activity.