State PCS - West Bengal (WBCS)

• 21 Apr 2025

Major Thermal Power Project to Be Set Up in Salboni, West Bengal

Why in News 

The Chief Minister of West Bengal is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for a Rs 16,000 crore thermal power project in Salboni, located in Paschim Medinipur district. This is the largest private investment in West Bengal's core sector in the last 14 years. 

Key Points 

• About: 
  • The project will establish a 1600 MW thermal power plant, divided into two units of 800 MW each. 
    • The first unit is expected to be operational in four years, and the second unit in the fifth year. 
  • It is being developed by Jindal South West (JSW) Energy under the Design-Build-Finance-Own-Operate (DBFOO) model. 
• Energy and Resource Linkages: 
  • Coal India Ltd will supply coal for the plant through the Shakti B(IV) scheme. 
• Economic and Industrial Impact: 
  • At peak construction, the project is expected to generate employment for 4,000-6,000 people and create 800-1,000 permanent jobs once operational. 
  • It represents a major step in the revival of large-scale industry in western West Bengal. 
• Future Expansion Plans: 
  • At the Bengal Global Business Summit 2025, Sajjan Jindal (Chairman, JSW Group) announced plans to double the plant’s capacity with another major investment. 
  • Additional thermal power projects are also planned in Durgapur, Bakreshwar, and Santaldih. 
  • The state government and JSW Group also plan to establish a new industrial park in Salboni. 
    

Major Thermal Power Plants in West Bengal 

• Bandel Thermal Power Station (sit­u­ated on the west­ern bank of Bha­gi­rathi River, Hooghly district) 
• Bakreswar Thermal Power Plant (Birb­hum district) 
• Kolaghat Thermal Power Station (Purba Medinipur district) 
• Sagardighi Thermal Power Plant (Mur­shid­abad district) 
• Santaldihi Thermal Power Station (Purulia district) 

SHAKTI Scheme 

• The Ministry of Coal introduced the Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India (SHAKTI) in 2017.  
  • SHAKTI Policy is a transparent way of allocating coal to the Power Sector. 
• Under SHAKTI Para B (iv), the coal linkages have been earmarked to the States of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala for a capacity of 4000 MW, 5600 MW, 6740 MW, 3299 MW, 1600 MW, 2000 MW, 4100 MW, 500 MW and 500 MW respectively.