In a letter to West Bengal Mineral Development & Trading Corporation, the union coal ministry asked the former to provide bank guarantee (BG) of Rs 1.3 crore for a coal block in West Bengal.

In 2006, the coal ministry allotted the Ichhapur coal mine in the the Raniganj coalfields of West Bengal to the company for commercial use. The mine has geological reserves of 335 million tonne.

The coal ministry sought bank guarantee from the firm for delay in developing the block based on the recommendation of an inter-ministerial group (IMG).

The IMG noted that "though there are slippages against all milestones, however, taking into account all factors, IMG does not consider it appropriate to recommend deallocation of the coal block at this stage.

But in view of the slippages in achievement of milestones, IMG suggested that the allocatee be permitted to continue holding the block on submission of BG equivalent to one year royalty for adherence to milestones.

The IMG has members from ministries including, power, steel, commerce, DIPP and law. It has been given the mandate to review the progress of development of allocated coal blocks and associated end-use projects and recommend action, including deallocation, if required.