Why most of the iron and steel industries are located in the Chhotanagpur plateau?

Explanation

This region extends over Jharkhand, northern Odisha and western West Bengal and is known for the heavy metallurgical industries. This region owes its development to the discovery of coal in the Damodar Valley and metallic and non-metallic minerals in Jharkhand and northern Odisha. Proximity of coal, iron ore and other minerals facilitated the location of heavy industries in this region. Six large integrated iron and steel plants at Jamshedpur, Burnpur- Kulti, Durgapur, Bokaro and Rourkela are located within this region.
To meet the power requirement, thermal and hydroelectric plants have been constructed in the Damodar Valley. This region is well connected to the transportation network between the metros of Mumbai and Kolkata and water ways. Water for the plants is easily available from Subarnarekha and it.s tributary. Kolkata port is nearby. Densely populated surrounding regions provide cheap labour and Hugli region provides vast market for its industries. Heavy engineering, machine tools, fertilisers, cement, paper, locomotives and heavy electricals are some of the important industries in this region. Important centres are Ranchi, Dhanbad, Chaibasa, Sindri, Hazaribag, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Rourkela, Durgapur, Asansol and Dalmianagar.