No dearth of funds for NALCO, Coal India and HCL: Mamata

KOLKATA: Union minister for coal and mines, Mamata Banerjee, on Sunday said that there would be no dearth of funds for development and expansion of PSUs like NALCO, Coal India Limited and Hindustan Copper Limited.
The Union government would provide all necessary help for research and development of the PSUs, Banerjee said while inaugurating the phase II of Geological Survey of India (GSI) at a new address, and asked the Mining Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) to come up with a restructuring and expansion programme.
MECL, carved out of GSI years back, would be provided with adequate funds for its expansion, she said.
Dedicating the second phase of the GSI to the motherland on the eve of the Republic Day, Banerjee said modernisation and expansion was a must for the GSI to move ahead, adding that "the over 150-year old organisation has some of the best scientists in the world and the GSI should take advantage of its coveted intellectual asset."
She said that two new offices of MECL would be opened at Haldia for Bay of Bengal and another on the west coast for Arabian Sea.
She also asked GSI to begin explorations in Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal claiming that the area is rich in mineral resources and the reserves should be tapped.