West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that at least one lakh jobs will be created once the Deocha Pachami coal block in Birbhum district operationalises.
Banerjee, speaking at an administrative review meeting here, expressed hope that the coal extracted will be sufficient to generate electricity for 100 years.
"One lakh jobs will be created which will solve the problem of unemployment," she said.
On people fearing that they will lose their lands due to the project, Banerjee said, "As of now, the area earmarked for the coal block is uninhabited and nobody owns any land there, so there is no problem."
The world's second-largest coal block, with an estimated reserve of 2.1 billion tonnes, was allocated to West Bengal by the Centre in June, 2018.
The coal block has the potential to bring in investments to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore over a period of time.
Spread over 9.7 sq km, the block is located in the southwestern part of Birbhum.