New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Congress party on Sunday lashed out at the Maharashtra government for awarding a power contract to the Adani Group, and said ‘shocking details’ of the deal will soon come to the fore.
Calling it yet another “Modani enterprise”, a jibe at the perceived proximity of PM Narendra Modi to Adani Group, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “shocking details of this rigged deal will soon start tumbling out”.
Ramesh pointed out that Adani Power’s bid for combined renewable and thermal energy was only a rupee cheaper than Maharashtra’s current electricity procurement costs.
The former Union Minister claimed that the Mahayuti (grand alliance) is pushing through a deal just ahead of its landslide defeat in the Assembly elections due later this year.
“Even as the Mahayuti Government in Maharashtra totters towards a landslide defeat, this is what they choose to do with their last few days in power. Yet another Modani enterprise undoubtedly! Shocking details of this rigged deal will soon start tumbling out,” the Congress leader posted on X.
According to sources cited by PTI, Adani Power has secured a contract to supply a combination of renewable and thermal power to Maharashtra’s state electricity distributor at a competitive rate of Rs 4.08 per unit. This bid, significantly lower than the current state procurement cost of electricity, outperformed rival offers from companies like JSW Energy and Torrent Power.
The contract involves supplying 5,000 MW of solar energy from Adani Green Energy’s Adani Power will supply 5,000 MW of solar energy from its Khavda Renewable Energy Park in Gujarat and an additional 1,496 MW of thermal power from a new ultra-supercritical plant. The power supply is expected to commence within four years of the final award of the letter of intent.
The Adani Group has been under intense scrutiny since short seller Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation, accounting fraud and corporate governance issues, leading to a sharp decline in shares of group companies.