Vijayawada, November 27, 2024: The Chandrababu Naidu-led govt in Andhra Pradesh is exploring a number of options to make the 2021 Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) deal more palatable after the bribery scandal allegedly involving the Adani Group was reported in the US.
Sources told TOI the state govt was not in favour of scrapping the deal, given the legal complications involved. Instead, it was negotiating the possibility of setting up the solar plant in Andhra instead of another state. This would substantially reduce transmission costs. If the power was available with minimal transmission cost, Rs 2.49 per unit was reasonable, said a senior minister.
We’re biz-friendly, junking SECI deal amid US bribery scandal last resort: AP mantri
The TDP govt has argued that although Rs 2.4 per unit of solar power was reasonable, they would have to pay an additional Rs 1.7 per unit as transmission cost as the original plan included drawing power from Rajasthan.
The Jagan-led YSRC govt in AP at the time had originally proposed signing an agreement with Adani Group to purchase 9,000 MW of solar power. As it had drawn severe criticism from the opposition, which alleged unilateral allotment of the contract to Adani Group, without competitive bidding, the state govt retracted from its original proposal and later announced the proposed deal with SECI for the purchase of 7,000 MW for agriculture use.
The minister added that the TDP-led NDA govt’s aim was to bring more investment into Andhra Pradesh and create job opportunities. “We are an industry-friendly govt. We want more investors to come in. Scrapping the SECI deal because of the bribery scandal in the US is the last option to consider,” he said.
Sources said if setting up the plant is not possible, the state govt may propose a price revision in accordance with prevailing market prices. State finance minister and TDP veteran Payyavula Keshav was the first to object to the deal in 2021 when he was in opposition.
On the other hand, the state govt is also considering legal opinion on initiating a probe into the corruption allegations. Sources said the state govt is waiting for the Centre to take a decision on the issue before taking a call.
Andhra Pradesh was at the centre of the alleged bribery scandal that broke out in the US earlier this month in which Adani Group’s top executives, including Gautam Adani, were indicted on criminal charges by Eastern District Court of New York. The indictment alleged that Rs 2,029 crore was offered as bribes to “Indian govt officials” for signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) according to the reports published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Out of the total Rs 2,029 crore, Rs 1,750 crore was allegedly offered to a high-ranking official in the AP govt, mentioned as “foreign official#1” in the documents.
According to the indictment, the official was offered Rs 1,750 crore, causing state discoms to agree to purchase seven gigawatts of solar power from SECI under the manufacturing linked project.
