Dhanbad, March 1: Union minister of state for coal Santosh Bagrodia today said that the Jharia coalfield was sitting on an atom bomb. He was referring to the inferno raging underneath.

The minister, who was in the district to inaugurate the statue of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi at Koylanagar, emphasised on the need for immediate implementation of the Jharia Action Plan.

He, however, refused to comment whether the plan would be presented during the next cabinet meeting.

Bagrodia said pillars of 20m width in several areas of Jharia had been reduced to one metre due to the underground fire, in such a situation accident can take place any time.

Supporting his argument, the Union minister said more than 67 places of the Jharia coalfield is affected by the underground fire.

Urging people living in unsafe areas to shift to the safer terrain, he said all facilities like roads, hospitals, schools and markets would be set up at the new place.

“The total cost of shifting the Jharia people would require about Rs 10,000 crore” Bagrodia said, adding that there would be no dearth of money for carrying it out.

At a news conference, he said though Jharia town is completely safe, people living in the peripheral areas are prone to risk and should immediately vacate the areas.

Regarding performance of Coal India Limited, he said the company would achieve the projected target of 405 million tonnes in the current fiscal which would ensure more supply of coal.

He added that the workers would get the benefit of around Rs 4,000 crore from the new wage agreement of the coal company, that too in five years instead of 10.

Highlighting the problem of drinking water in coal belt, he said it is a serious one and all efforts are being made to find a solution to it.

Talking about global crisis he said while the banks in the west have failed, banks in India have not been affected by the situation.