Power dept mulls tie-up with Australia on coal extraction strategies
Kolkata: The state Power department is considering a tie-up with the Australian government in order to share their expertise in the extraction of coal.
State Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay
held a high-level meeting
with the Australian Consulate
General in Kolkata Andrew Ford at Vidyut Unnayan Bhavan on Wednesday, discussing a number of issues. Topics like new methods of extracting coal and preservation of solar energy found place in the discussion.
It has been learnt that the Australian Consulate General has also expressed interest in working with the state government as well as sharing their expertise in use of advanced technologies.
"The Australian government is interested in working with the Bengal government where they would share their expertise on extraction of coal and preservation of solar energy in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will formulate policies on how the Bengal government will proceed further with cooperation from the Australian government and what the areas of common interest are," Chattopadhyay said.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Power department Sunil Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited Santanu Basu and Managing Director of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) P B Salim were also present during the meeting.
It may be mentioned here that last week, the Bengal government had obtained clearance from the Centre to extract coal at its Deocha Pachami reserve.
Deocha Pachami, situated in Birbhum, is one of the largest coal blocks in Asia. The Mamata Banerjee government had been keen on carrying out excavation there for a long time, but the Centre was reluctant to issue a no-objection clearance to the state. The Power department will proceed after it gets the nod from the Chief Minister, who will be briefed about the project.
Experts feel that a tie-up with the Australian government in the field of coal extraction may come immensely handy for the state Power department.
