Gourangdih coalmines allotted to WBMDTCL, steel sector to reap benefits

Kolkata: The steel sector is going to get a major boost in Bengal, with West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Limited (WBMDTCL) becoming the allottee of coalmines at Gourangdih in Burdwan, besides obtaining necessary permission from Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) to undertake exploration activities.

Amit Mitra, the state Commerce and Industries minister, said in the Assembly on Tuesday that this is going to be a game changer for the state.

He said that Gourangdih ABC Coal Mines in Burdwan, where there is presence of around 61.53 million tonnes of coal, has been allotted to WBMDTCL. The coal that will be excavated from the place, will be helpful in giving a boost to the industry, mainly the steel sector in Bengal. The coal will also serve the needs of the small and medium scale enterprises as well.

Another important development for the industries in the state is that, necessary clearances to carry out exploration activities have been received and the corporation is contemplating to undertake exploration activities in the western part of the state.

Mitra said that earlier, exploration activities were not possible. Now, with the clearances, exploration of iron ore would be possible. "So, with coal on one hand and exploration of iron ore on the other, the steel industry in the state will reach a new level," he said, adding that the corporation has also taken "giant strides towards exploration and extraction of various non-coal minerals such as rock-phosphate, stone aggregates, fire clay, quartz, feldspar, etc. to convert mineral resources to marketable commodities, for generating revenue from sales proceeds.

Mitra has also stressed upon the introduction of the city gas distribution network project. He also highlighted the development that the state has witnessed in different aspects of the industry sector in the past six years, since the Trinamool Congress government came to power.

He further stated that in the 2010-11 fiscal, the turnover of Saraswati Press was around Rs 58.19 crore. The same has gone up manifold and at present, it stands at Rs 414 crore. The profit margin has also gone up from Rs 3.94 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 37 crore at present.