The Adani Group has rejected allegations that its renewable energy arm, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), reduced the declared cost of its 1,500-MW Tarali pumped storage project in Maharashtra to lower statutory wildlife-related obligations.
In a statement responding to a report by The Indian Express, the group said the Rs 56.75 crore figure mentioned in an online forest and wildlife clearance proposal represented only preliminary site investigations and surveys. It said the State Board for Wildlife had considered the total project cost at Rs 5,675 crore.
The group said site investigation costs were around 1 per cent of the overall project cost. On that basis, it said the Rs 56.75 crore amount was provided specifically for the site investigation and survey component in the online proposal, rather than as the total cost of the Tarali project.
The Indian Express reported that AGEL had reduced the declared cost of the project from Rs 5,675 crore to Rs 56.75 crore through a revised affidavit. According to that report, the change reduced a mandatory wildlife conservation contribution linked to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve from Rs 227 crore to about Rs 2.27 crore. The report also said the revision had prompted the Centre to order a probe.
The Adani Group rejected the allegation that the revision was intended to reduce conservation-related payments. It said the Tarali pumped storage project was located entirely on private, non-forest land and was 3.2 kilometres from the Koyna wildlife sanctuary.
The group further said the project fell outside the notified buffer zone of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. It said the project did not affect or lie along a tiger corridor and was not located within any notified Eco-Sensitive Zone. The statement also said the project did not involve the diversion of protected areas, reserve forest or a notified Eco-Sensitive Zone.
Pumped storage projects use electricity to move water between reservoirs or other water bodies and generate power when demand rises. Their approval can involve multiple land, environmental, wildlife and construction-related processes, making the description of project costs relevant to the authorities assessing statutory obligations.
The dispute therefore centres on how the two figures were presented in clearance-related documents: the Rs 5,675 crore amount cited by the State Board for Wildlife for the full project, and the Rs 56.75 crore amount that the group said referred only to preliminary investigations and surveys. The available report does not provide the revised affidavit or the Centre’s probe order.
The Adani Group’s statement did not indicate a revised construction schedule or provide further details about the project’s implementation timeline. The reported probe and the authorities’ assessment of the project’s cost and environmental location remain the next formal developments to watch.
