Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Congress on Monday (September 16, 2024) criticised the Mahayuti government for awarding the Adani Group a contract to supply 6,600 MW of bundled renewable and thermal power to Maharashtra. It questioned whether this ‘favour’ to the conglomerate would lead to a significant tariff burden on the State’s consumers.

The party’s general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh said that despite the Mahayuti government ‘stumbling towards a landslide defeat,’ they are using their final days in power to push a ‘Modani agenda’ by awarding the Adani Group a massive power procurement contract.

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“Even as the Mahayuti Government in Maharashtra totters towards a landslide defeat, they choose to spend their last few days in power pursuing a Modani enterprise, giving the Adani Group a giant power purchasing contract,” he said in a post on X.

The Adani Group recently secured a long-term contract to supply 6,600 MW of bundled renewable and thermal power to Maharashtra after its bid of ₹4.08 per unit outcompeted rivals such as JSW Energy and Torrent Power. The power supply is scheduled to begin 48 months after the issuance of the letter of intent.

“Here are five questions for the non-biological PM on his new joint venture. Is it not true that – The terms and conditions of the tender issued by the Maharashtra Government for bids on 1,600 MW thermal and 5,000 MW solar on 13.03.2024 were modified from the Standard Bidding Guidelines to minimise competition?” the former Union Minister said.

“The tariff for the 1,600 MW coal power is roughly ₹12 crore per MW – at a time when Adani has itself contracted with BHEL for less than seven crore per MW and other providers such as NTPC/DVC/Neveli Lignite Corporations are implementing large thermal projects at ₹8-9 crore per MW?” he said.

Mr. Ramesh asked whether ₹28,000 crore of the project cost will be financed entirely by the agencies controlled by the Ministry of Power of the Maharashtra Government.

“Tariffs for solar power are in the ₹2.5 per unit range but Adani Green will be supplying power at ₹2.7 per unit? These revdis distributed to the Adani Group will but a heavy burden of tariff on the 2.7 crore consumers in the State of Maharashtra?” the Congress leader asked.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and and Ajit Pawar during the foundation stone laying and inauguration ceremony of multiple developmental projects in Mumbai on July 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Mahayuti government on July 23 welcomed the Union Budget for allocating funds and projects worth over ₹8,000 crore for Maharashtra, while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) criticised it for focusing mainly on Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, States ruled by allies of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

Shiv Sena president and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repaid the trust placed in him by every Indian and brought relief to the common man by making major changes in the tax structure. He also referred to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remark that it is a “Navratna Budget” focusing on farmers, women, youth, skill development, employment, infrastructure development, urban development, social justice, and ‘Developed India’.

‘Too little, too late’

However, NCP (SP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule alleged that Maharashtra has been neglected despite the BJP-led Mahayuti government depending on the support of two other political outfits. She said only two States seem to be “Ladki (adorable)” for the Centre — Bihar and Andhra Pradesh — alluding to the Maharashtra government’s Ladki Behan and Ladka Bhau schemes introduced in the State Budget.

“In 2014, Chandrababu Naidu had made a request for aid, but he did not receive support then. Now, it’s too little, too late. The credit for this shift should go to India’s voters. When they [the BJP] had 303 MPs, they did not prioritise helping Andhra Pradesh or Bihar. But after their numbers dropped to 240, they started paying attention to these two States,” Ms. Sule said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray said the Union government through its Budget seemed to indicate that the BJP does not like Maharashtra. He questioned why the State, despite being the largest taxpayer, received less allocation in the Budget. “I can understand the BJP wanting to save its [NDA] government and giving Bihar and Andhra Pradesh a huge sum of the budget. But what is Maharashtra’s fault? That we are the largest taxpayer? What did we get against what we contributed? Was Maharashtra mentioned even once in the budget? Why does the BJP hate and insult Maharashtra so much? This isn’t the first time, through the entire past decade of BJP’s government, we have seen this bias against Maharashtra,” he posted on X.

State Congress chief Nana Patole blamed the three constituents of the Mahayuti government — the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP — for Maharashtra not receiving any major allocation and said the trio of Mr. Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar isn’t trusted any more by the Centre. He also pointed out that the stock markets had tanked during the presentation of the Budget. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex fell by over 1,000 points, slipping below the 80,000-mark. It recovered prior to closing hours, but remained in the red.

“The fact that the stock market also collapsed shows that it was a disappointing Budget for various sectors. Yet the Chief Minister is showering praises on the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. It only goes on to show that he is more concerned about his position in Maharashtra and desperate for power,” Mr. Patole said.

Fadnavis’s riposte

Refuting the claims made by Maha Vikas Aghadi, Mr. Fadnavis said Maharashtra had secured schemes, projects and funds worth at least ₹8,045 crore. He then went on to list some of the proposed allocations for the State — ₹600 crore for irrigation projects in Vidarbha and Marathwada, ₹400 crore for Maharashtra Rural Road Improvement, ₹466 crore for economic corridors for inclusive development, ₹598 crore for environment-friendly, sustainable agriculture projects, ₹150 crore for Maharashtra agriculture and rural transformation project, ₹908 crore for Mumbai Urban Transport Project-3, ₹1,087 crore for Mumbai Metro, ₹499 crore for Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, ₹150 crore for Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s green urban mobility, ₹500 crore for Nagpur Metro, ₹814 crore for Pune Metro, ₹500 crore for Nag river pollution abatement, and ₹690 crore for Mula Mutha river conservation.