West Bengal focuses on increasing mineral revenue

financialexpress.com:

The West Bengal government is planning to increase revenues from the minerals sector by undertaking several policy measures.

The state has one-fifth of India’s mineral reserves and one-third of the country’s mineral production. Thus, there is huge potential which is yet to be tapped, Anurag Srivastava, secretary, state department of industry and commerce, said on Friday.

The state government has undertaken various policy initiatives as it is looking to match the mineral revenue of Odisha. “The sand mining policy has led to an increase in government revenue, from mere Rs 50 crore to over Rs 1,000 crore,” Srivastava said at an event organised by Assocham.  

He said commercial production at the Deocha Pachami coal block will commence soon and it would be a great boost to the sector. Notably, Deocha Pachami is the largest coal block in Asia. The state government is in the process of implementing R&R scheme to support around 4,000 families for the project.

Srivastava expressed hope that the state would receive investments of close to Rs 50,000 crore in shale gas development and production. Companies such as Great Eastern Energy Corporation and Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production have evinced interest in investing in CBM and shale gas.