India, April 29 -- State government provided job largesse and promised financial help to local population to nip the movement in the bud

The proposed Deucha Pachami coal mine project in Birbhum district of West Bengal is unlikely to be a major electoral agenda when the district votes on May 13, as uncertainty over its completion has taken steam out of the movement highlighting green concerns, locals and activists have told Down To Earth (DTE).

The Rs 20,000 crore project involving the mine, billed as one having the highest coal reserves in India, has been pitchforked as a mega employment and investment initiative by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The opposition in the state though has claimed that the positioning by Banerje...