Swapan Dasgupta, Member of Parliament (President Nominee), has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to halt the inauguration of the Birbhum coal block due to several reasons. In his letter to the PM, he mentioned that the plan was at a very early stage and inaugurating without any prior study would bear numerous consequences. This comes just a  day after West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee met PM Modi and invited him to inaugurate the second-largest coal project of the world which is to be planted in Birbhum district of West Bengal. 

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MP Dasgupta Spots Errors of Concern

Dasgupta, in his letter, stated that no study of the likely social and environmental conditions has been done yet and that the process of securing environmental clearance has not even begun. He mentioned that the area of Birbhum where the coal blocks are located is widely populated by Adivasis who have been living there for long and have registered their concerns of coal mining in the area. He also brought to PM Modi's notice, the fact that the state government had admitted to not have begun the rehabilitation policy for displaced people, in this case, the Adivasis. MP Dasgupta, who is also a journalist, stated that the district of Birbhum has been facing political violence which may be triggered by land sharks and there are some serious charges of police high-handedness. 

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'Not Ready To Be Inaugurated'

Dasgupta said that the presence of PM at the mega coal project inauguration after Durga Puja might indicate that all these issues have addressed. This would also suggest that mining could be operational in a very short time which in turn would affect the process of environment clearance and rehabilitation package. He also speculated that there were concerns that land sharks with certain political backing have intentions of grabbing Adivasis' land. Concluding his letter to the PM, Dasgupta suggested that the process of due diligence of the mega coal project in Birbhum must be completed before the PM formally inaugurates it.

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