(a) whether there is a large deposit of coal under the proposed airport site at Andal in West Bengal;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the go-ahead for the said airport was halted due to finding of coal there;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF THE STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION (SHRI PRAFUL PATEL)
(a) & (b): As per the regional exploration done by the Geological Survey of India in the area about
1400 million tonnes of coal reserves are present in Andal area, located in Raniganj coalfields in
West Bengal. The proposed airport project area falls in the southest part of the Raniganj Coalfield
and covers a part of ECL leasehold area.
(c), (d) & (e): Government of India have accorded ‘in-principle’ approval of setting up of domestic
Greenfield airport at Andal-Faridpur blocks of Barddhaman District in West Bengal subject to the
Government of West Bengal addressing the concern of Coal India Limited in the year 2008. Government
of West Bengal had informed that the issues raised by the Coal India Limited were discussed at length
and the issues were satisfactorily resolved on the basis of realignment of the boundaries of the project,
without disturbing the alignment of the airport itself.