Archive · 30 Aug 2026
Suvendu Adhikari Plans Reset for Mamata’s Deocha-Pachami Coal Mine
Deocha-Pachami is a large coal-mining project in Birbhum.
Mamata Banerjee announced it in 2016 and said it could create many jobs.
The project became controversial because tribal residents protested and some groups went to court.
Critics also questioned whether coal could be reached beneath the basalt rock.
They alleged that some land transfers and government jobs were handled improperly.
After the BJP came to power, Suvendu Adhikari said his government would make a new plan for the mine.
He also said allegedly illegal land leases and jobs connected to them had been cancelled.
The government has not yet announced the new road map.
The BJP-led Bengal government will prepare a new road map for the Deocha-Pachami coal mine.
Mamata Banerjee announced the project in 2016, projecting at least one lakh jobs.
The project faced tribal protests, court challenges, corruption allegations and questions about its feasibility.
Suvendu Adhikari said allegedly illegal land transfers and jobs linked to them were being cancelled.
The mine’s work was halted months before the BJP defeated the Trinamool government in the 2026 Assembly elections.
- Who
- The BJP-led Bengal government under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is reviewing the project originally announced by Mamata Banerjee.
- What
- Officials will prepare a new road map for the proposed Deocha-Pachami coal mine and investigate alleged illegal land transfers and related jobs.
- When
- Suvendu Adhikari said he would return in the last week of September; the project was announced in 2016 and work was halted before the 2026 Assembly elections.
- Where
- Deocha-Pachami in Birbhum, West Bengal.
- Why
- The project encountered protests, court challenges, corruption allegations and doubts about whether coal could be excavated beneath the basalt layer.
Project proponents
Project critics
Economic promise
Project proponents
Mamata Banerjee presented the mine as a major project that could become the world’s second-largest coal mine and create at least one lakh jobs.
Project critics
Critics questioned whether the project was economically and technically feasible because the coal lies beneath the primary basalt layer.
Land and rehabilitation
Project proponents
The previous government offered compensation, rehabilitation and government jobs to people who lost land.
Project critics
The BJP alleged that tribal land was transferred to ineligible people and that government jobs were given in exchange for land.
Project purpose
Project proponents
The previous government began execution by excavating a basalt layer in February 2025.
Project critics
The BJP and CPM alleged that the government might have intended to generate revenue from basalt while presenting the work as a coal-mining project.
- Project area
- About 3,500 acres
- Announcement
- Mamata Banerjee announced the project in 2016
- Projected employment
- At least one lakh jobs
- Project status
- Work was halted a few months before the 2026 Assembly elections
- Main controversy
- Questions over feasibility, land acquisition, alleged corruption and jobs given in exchange for land
- Suvendu’s planned action
- A concrete road map is expected after his visit to Birbhum in the last week of September