The Bengal government has decided to shoulder the financial burden of Bengal Emta — a joint venture of the state and Emta that used to run four coal mines in Bengal and Jharkhand but is not operational any more — by clearing its dues to ensure regular supply of coal for five power plants.

The plants are run by the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL). The state-run company now owns the mines following a 2014 Supreme Court order but has not been able to extract coal because of resistance from land-losers, vendors and transporters over the dues of Bengal Emta.

Sources said the finance department recently cleared the plan to shoulder the financial burden of the joint venture in which the state had a 26 per cent stake.

“Though the company exists on paper now, it is not operational any more since the Supreme Court cancelled all mining leases in the country in 2012. As PDCL is in desperate need of coal and enjoys the mining rights in the four mines, the government has decided to shoulder the burden,” said a source.

When the leases of the mines operated by Bengal Emta were cancelled, it had not cleared the dues of vendors and transporters. Hundreds of land-losers had also not been paid compensation.

An official said an initial sum of Rs 4 crore had been sanctioned for each of the mines to clear the dues, adding further allotments would depend on the demands. “The district magistrates of the areas where the mines are located will receive applications from people claiming their dues with relevant documents,” said the official.

Nabanna sources said initially the process would start with the four mines — two in Birbhum and one each in Bankura and Jharkhand — as extracting coal would be possible in a short period in these areas.

Soon after the coalmines once operated by Bengal-Emta were reallocated to WBPDCL in 2014-15 following the Supreme Court order, the power company tried to start mining.

“But the initiative hit a roadblock as locals, including the land-losers, opposed the efforts alleging non-payment of compensation and other dues. The efforts started afresh earlier this year as WBPDCL started facing a coal crisis,” said another official.

The WBPDCL needs 24 million tonnes of coal annually for its units but has supply commitments of only 14 million tonnes from Coal India.

Asked if the government would try to recover the amount from Bengal Emta, a senior Nabanna official said: “The company still exists. We will look into the balance-sheet and take steps to recover the sum later,” said the official.