Kolkata, Apr 21 (Reporter) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday laid the foundation for a 1,600 MW ultra-supercritical thermal power plant at Salboni in West Medinipur district, around 154 km from here. The project, marking JSW Energy's first greenfield foray into the energy sector in Eastern India, will involve an investment of Rs 16,000 crore and comprise two 800 MW units. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said, “This is a historic project for Bengal. The thermal power plant in Salboni will benefit 23 districts of the state. It will create employment for 15,000 people. Rs 1,600 crore will be spent. Tomorrow, I will inaugurate the solar plant. Earlier, people used to call it a government of load-shedding—there’s no need for that anymore. Now, electricity is supplied 24/7. The Jindals will set up two more thermal power plants.” Detailing out the projects that are coming up in the state, the chief minister said, “Six economic corridors have been developed in Bengal. In Paschim Medinipur alone, Rs 3,700 crore has been spent. A massive coal block is being developed at Deocha-Pachami. It will create employment for 1 lakh people. On the 30th, the Jagannath Temple will be inaugurated in Digha. Five major companies are going to invest in Raghunathpur, Purulia.” Taking a dig at the opposition, the chief minister said, “You may criticize me, but you cannot ignore me. Many people say many things. We don’t just talk—we show results.” “We received 4.4 lakh crore proposals from the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) this year. Our synergy committee has cleared one thousand crore project in only 15 days,” she added. The first 800 MW unit is scheduled to be commissioned within 42 months, with the second unit expected to follow in 48 months. “Power is the need of the day and we will do everything to complete the project at the earliest. We would like to assure that this project will contribute to the overall development of the area and I am thankful to Didi (Mamata Banerjee) that he has given me the opportunity to work for the people of the state,” chairman and managing director of JSW Group of companies, Sajjan Jindal said. Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and Actor and Trinamool Congress MP Deb (Dipak Adhikari) were present on the occasion...////...