State to urge Centre to regularise all coal mines in Bengal

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked state Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi to take up with the Centre and regularise all the coal mines in the state.

“The coal mines that are running irregularly can be regularised. This will ensure additional revenue for the government and the job security of the workers. The Centre points fingers at us over illegal coal mines and coal smuggling but the mines are regulated by the Coal Ministry and Home Ministry (which provides security of the mines). So, the Coal minister should look into this matter,” Banerjee said directing the Chief Secretary to speak with Coal India in this regard.

Banerjee‘s instructions came while speaking with Arun Prasad, district magistrate, West Burdwan where a majority of coal mines are located.

Banerjee further instructed the MSME department to create a brand christened ‘Banglar Saree’ so that the variety of sarees produced in Bengal can be made available under a single roof. She also directed the Principal Secretary of the MSME department Rajesh Pandey to integrate skill development with MSME synergy considering the huge potential for employment in the MSME sector.

“There are several districts in Bengal which specialise in one or two particular varieties of saree. Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda to name a few are very much on this list. There should be one Banglar saree outlet in every block. We can have such an outlet in our tourist resorts or guest houses too,” said Banerjee.

She directed the constitution of a committee in this regard. Banerjee also advised that the price for the sarees should be in affordable ranges so that the common people can purchase them. “The minimum price can be fixed at Rs 300,” she suggested.

Reiterating the fact that skill development is her government’s top priority for ensuring more employment in the state, Banerjee instructed state Labour minister Moloy Ghatak to take necessary measures for integrating the list of names with the employment exchanges with the state Skill Development and Training department so that they can be skilled as per their area of interest and made job ready.

With all leading chambers of commerce and industry representatives attending the meeting, Banerjee also invited to set up a big industry at Katwa in East Burdwan on a 650-acre land. NTPC had taken up the land for a power project but had shelved the same for their personal reasons.