The Bengal government will soon approach the Centre seeking technical and financial assistance in carrying out underground coal gasification (UCG) in a portion of the Deocha-Pachami coal reserve where the mining of coal is not economically feasible.
The move, sources said, gives a clear hint that the Mamata Banerjee government is leaving no stone unturned to make the coal mine project in Birbhum district functional at the earliest in an apparent bid to generate employment opportunities keeping the 2026 Assembly polls in mind.
“We will soon approach the ministry of coal seeking technical and financial assistance for the extraction of a portion of the coal in Deocha-Pachami on UCG mode. The ministry has recently announced a policy to assist states in UCG. Bengal could be the first state to approach the Centre for the assistance,” said a senior bureaucrat.
UCG is a new concept in India. It is a process through which underground coal — mining of which is not financially feasible — is converted into usable gas by injecting steam and oxidants into the coal seam and igniting it. The resulting gases include valuable gases such as methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The gases are utilised to produce chemical feedstocks for fuels, fertilisers, explosives and other industrial applications.
Besides the valuable gases, a liquid fuel — syngas — can be produced under controlled conditions through the UCG. Syngas is used for power generation and to make methanol.
“The procedure provides access to coal that could be too expensive to mine using traditional methods…. The state government will not have to acquire land on a large scale for the project. Moreover, it helps reduce air and surface pollution,” said a senior state government official.
In Deocha-Pachami, the UCG project was being planned where the basalt overhead was more than 500 meters thick and the mining of coal was not economically viable.
According to sources, the Deocha-Pachami has a reserve of 1,200 million metric tons of coal. Of the reserve, 30 per cent or about 360 million metric tons of coal could not be extracted through open-cast mining. Another 400 million metric tons could be extracted through underground mining.
However, the mining of around 400 million tons of coal is not feasible because of the thick overhead of basalt. The UCG was being planned in the area where the mining is
not feasible.
The state government will pursue the UCG with the Centre, while it will lay stress on extracting coal through opencast mining on 376 acres in the first phase of the project. An agency has already been engaged to remove the basalt overhead from the area.
“We have also floated a global tender inviting agencies for the mining of coal in the first phase. The tender will be opened after the last date for submitting the expression of interest (EOI) expires on of February 3,” said another official.
In India, the ministry of coal initiated its first UCG project at the Kasta coal block in Jamtara district in Jharkhand last year.
The ministry has decided to promote coal gasification projects in the country for making full use of coal reserves — which could not be mined — into various high-value chemical products.
“As the coal reserve that has been identified for the UCG has about 400 million metric tons of coal, it is expected that the Centre will come forward to support the state’s plan,” said an official.
However, another official said: “I am not sure whether the Centre will show much interest in assisting the state ahead of the 2026 polls as it will help the Trinamool
Congress.”