The West Bengal Cabinet has approved the construction of a 660-megawatt (MW) supercritical electricity plant at Sagardighi, located in the Murshidabad district. The plant is expected to be operational by March next year. In addition, the Cabinet has cleared the way for the development of five more power plants, including a larger 1600 MW plant. The latter project is to be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, with the specific location to be decided by the project developers.
West Bengal currently operates several power plants at various sites, including Sagardighi, Bakerswar, Kolghat Badal, and Durgapur. In a separate decision, the Cabinet has agreed to convert 32.43 acres of long-term settlement land and 40.17 acres of old vested land belonging to Shyam Shell and Power Limited in Jamuaria into freehold property. This land will be used for a new steel and power plant project.
Additionally, government officials are addressing the state’s flood crisis, particularly in northern areas, where floodwaters have been exacerbated by discharges from dams in neighboring Bihar. Relief measures have been implemented to mitigate the situation.