US Department of Justice had accused Adani Group for bribery
OdishaPlus Bureau
Breaking its silence on the US Department of Justice’s indictment of the Adani group for bribing government officials of Odisha and several other states to secure solar energy contracts, the BJD, which was in power in the state during the period, dismissed the charges as ‘baseless and incorrect’.
Former Energy minister and Opposition chief whip in the Assembly Pratap Keshari Deb said the power purchase agreement made in 2021 was between two government agencies—the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), a central public sector undertaking (PSU), and Gridco, a state PSU—to supply renewable energy under the Centre’s manufacturing-linked solar scheme.
Deb said the agreement was to procure 500 MW of renewable energy from SECI at the lowest rates and was between two government entities. “There was no engagement of any private party whatsoever including the Adani Group,” he said.
“In fact to fulfill the renewable energy commitments, the state has been procuring renewable energy from central government PSUs like SECI and NTPC from 2011 onwards. Hence, these allegations regarding Odisha are baseless and incorrect,” he added. The former minister said Odisha has privatized the power distribution sector while other states do the job directly.
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