The Mamata Banerjee government has sought an assurance from the Centre that it will not shift the headquarters of three state-owned entities — the Tea Board of India, Damodar Valley Corporation, and National Insurance Company — out of the city or contemplate the closure of the Calcutta Stock Exchange.

A letter sent by Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra to Union steel and petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday also wanted the latter’s confirmation that the raw material division of SAIL would not be moved from the city.

“There is deep apprehension that the headquarters of some iconic institutions of the central government would be moved out of Calcutta into other cities in the near future,” Mitra wrote in the letter. He mentioned the Tea Board, which has been in this city for 67 years, DVC and National Insurance in this context.

“Therefore, to allay the apprehensions, I seek your government’s assurance that the headquarters of these iconic institutions will not be removed from Calcutta,” Mitra wrote.

He argued that there is ‘an ominous pattern’ of removing headquarters of PSUs from this city ever since the Modi government came to power at the Centre in 2014. He cited instances of the shifting of the corporate office of Hindustan Steel Works in 2017, of Coal India shifting various divisions and the SBI moving its central accounting hub to Mumbai in 2018.

The latest communication by the Bengal minister was in response to a letter written by Pradhan on Thursday, allaying fears that dismantling of RMD of SAIL, would be the death knell for two steel plants at Durgapur and Burnpur.

However, Pradhan noted that SAIL had made sizable investments in these two plants and they would continue to get iron ore from the company’s own mines and not have to buy from the market at a higher rate. The Union minister, however, did not say if the decision to dismantle RMD would be reconsidered.

“I am surprised that you chose not to address the major question of dismantling of RMD in Calcutta… I once again urge you to stop dismantling of RMD and keep its headquarters here,” Mitra wrote.

Pradhan’s letter hinted that decentralisation of mining administration, which is now under RMD, would be more effective given SAIL is going to increase mining operations and also sell iron ore to the open market for third parties.

“This will require closer coordination with respective states and local authorities which can be carried out more effectively and efficiently by the plants located therein,” Pradhan wrote.