Bengal eyes partners to revive closed mines

The West Bengal government has identified 27 coal mines, which have been abandoned by the Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), for developing them a public private partnership (PPP) model.

The government is likely to float a separate company for reviving the mines.

The move was aimed at curbing illegal mining in the districts of Purulia, Bankura and Bardhaman in West Bengal, said Amit Kiran Deb, chief secretary of West Bengal, on the sidelines of a meeting in Kolkata on Monday.

The three districts together had about 50,000 illegal coal mine workers, he said.

He did not give any details as to how such a transfer of ownership would be achieved or on the terms governing such a transaction.

In response, Partha S Bhattacharyya, chairman of Coal India Ltd (CIL), said the government was also planning to tap Chinese expertise to exploit the subsisting coal reserves inside closed mines.

A Chinese delegation, visiting the forthcoming Asian Mining Seminar, would also visit the mines this month to suggest ways to upgrade them, Bhattacharyya said.

"We need technology to upgrade the mines and PPP model is the suitable for their revival. A legally acceptable means has to be found out to make the model work. We may also form a separate company in which the government would hold a majority stake. While it is too early to comment on who will partner with the government, Chinese companies may or may not hold a stake in it," he said.

Also, a task force comprising representatives of the Centre, the West Bengal government and CIL has been constituted to examine the issue of illegal mining in the state.

According to Bhattacharyya, Indian School of Mines and Xavier Institute of Labour Relations (XLRI) Jamshedpur are holding studies to address the issue of illegal mines in the country.

"The method of illegal mining is not only unscientific but also unsafe. However, they play an important role in the economy of the region, as many small sponge iron units are dependent on them. Our approach is to identify the abandoned mines which can be used, so that the 50,000 people displaced due to the closure of coal mines can get jobs," Deb said.

The mines, which have been already declared unsafe, should be closed down in a scientific manner and the the proposal to develop the mines with private partnership has also been sent to the Union coal ministry, Deb added.

According to N C Jha, director (technical), "Those mines found unsafe have been abandoned. Those with some reserves can be used in a planned manner."