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regular-article-logo Friday, 19 April 2024

Aam Aadmi Party targets Centre on Adani coal

MP Sanjay Singh alleges that business conglomerate is overpricing coal and also diverting it to its own plants

Our Special Correspondent New Delhi Published 04.03.23, 04:10 AM
Gautam Adani.

Gautam Adani. File picture

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Friday alleged favouritism in the restored allocation of two coal mines in Chhattisgarh to the Adani group.

He further alleged that the business conglomerate was overpricing the coal and also diverting it to its own plants.

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According to a recent news report by The Reporters Collective, published on the Al Jazeera website, the Parsa East and Kente Basan mines were allotted in 2007 to a Rajasthan PSU.

Under Vasundhara Raje’s BJP government, a joint venture with Adani was formed to operate the mines. The allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court along with many others in 2014 after a controversy over coal-block allocations during the Manmohan Singh government’s tenure.

In 2015, the Narendra Modi government passed the Coal Mines Special Provisions Act to allow previous contracts to be reinstated.

The Collective’s report says: “(Adani) group was given the exception under a regulation introduced by the Modi government following a 2014 Supreme Court ruling that cancelled the allocations of 204 coal blocks.”

Singh said on Friday: “Modi should tell why these two coal mines were not cancelled despite the order of the Supreme Court…. The deal with the Rajasthan government is shocking: 74 per cent is Adani’s and 26 per cent is Rajasthan’s.

“Adani is selling Rajasthan coal from Rajasthan’s own coal mine for Rs 2,300 per tonne, which is Rs 300 more than what Coal India sells for.”

He added: “That is why Rajasthan has the most expensive electricity rates at Rs 10 per unit…. The mines were allocated to Rajasthan for producing cheaper power. But that was given away to Adani.”

The Rajya Sabha member from Delhi alleged that Adani was also making money by diverting coal to his own power plants.

“Coal India says that 2,200 calories coal is fit to use in power plants. The deal between Adani and Rajasthan’s power company says that coal below 4,000 calories will be considered as a reject,” he said.

“The Act made by the Centre says that not a piece of coal can be used by private parties. Even a reject will belong to the state that owns the mine.

“Adani has been given permission to sell 25 per cent of the coal and use it in their own plant…. In effect, if we calculate for the next 30 years, it comes to Rs 50,000 crore worth of coal being given free to Adani.”

Singh estimates the total value of the alleged scam at Rs 1 lakh crore.

“For this I will also write a letter to the CBI and CAG…. The reason for the expensive electricity is Modi’s corruption,” he said.

The Adani group, the Centre and Rajasthan, which now has a Congress government, are yet to respond to the allegations.

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