Kolkata Yet another case of land-related unrest is roiling West Bengal, this time around developing a coal mine allotted to Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) in 2004. At least 27 policemen, including three officers, and six villagers were injured in a pitched battle early on Tuesday at Dubrajpur in Birbhum district, 226 km from Kolkata. Clashes erupted when policemen turned up to retrieve an excavator seized a few days back by villagers protesting against land acquisition for an open-cast mine. Coal from the mine is expected to power the 2x500 MW Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Project. Villagers set police vehicles on fire and reportedly attacked with bows and arrows. State home secretary Basudeb Banerjee denied rumours of police firing, citing medical reports which, he said, did not show any bullet wounds. Among those admitted to the Suri Hospital and Burdwan Medical College & Hospital, two villagers and several policemen are reportedly in a critical condition. The villagers are pitted against DVC Emta Coal Mines — a joint venture between state-run DVC and Bengal Emta — which is trying to acquire land to develop an open-cast mine under the Khagra Jaidev block allotted to DVC in 2004. The company acquired 750 acres until 2007, when it stopped the process due to stiff opposition. DVC chairman RN Sen told FE the JV requires at least 1,500 acres for the mine, though a DVC Emta Coal Mines official pegged the figure at 3,000 acres, required to increase production from present 3 million tonnes per annum to 5,000 mtpa. “Production has come to a halt in the last one year due to villagers’ resistance. There has been no progress in increasing mine capacity,” Sen said. A DVC official said though the company was not directly handling acquisition and the JV was mainly responsible for it, there was government pressure to develop and increase mine capacity, since the power sector is already short of coal. When the company took fresh initiatives to acquire land and start operations, protests resumed. Joydeep Majumdar, who is leading the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (save agricultural land committee) in the troubled area said: “We also want industries. But we demand adequate compensation for land. Several villages will disappear due to land acquisition.” Bengal Emta director NM Mukherjee said a rehabilitation package for the project-affected people has already been worked out, which includes monetary compensation of Rs 12 lakh per acre, which he claimed is the highest yet in West Bengal. Besides, alternative land for those losing homestead land and jobs to a member of a family, which would give at least 2 acres were also part of the package, Mukherjee said. An Emta official claimed most villagers were willing to part with their land, but some were obstructing the whole process.