APCC president Y.S. Sharmila demands scrapping of Power Purchase Agreements signed by Andhra Pradesh govt. and Adani Group

Jagan Mohan Reddy, as Chief Minister, accepted a bribe of ₹1,750 crore to sign an agreement that would result in a steep financial burden on people of the State, alleges Congress leader

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief Y.S. Sharmila on Monday urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to immediately scrap the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed by his predecessor Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy with the Adani Group, after the former Chief Minister was indicted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (USSEC) on charges of accepting a bribe from the Adani Group.

In a letter addressed to Mr. Naidu, the APCC chief said the “illegal deal” with Adani would result in a burden of ₹1.50 lakh crore on the people of the State. “YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had received bribes amounting to ₹1,750 crore from Gautam Adani, and an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a sitting judge should be ordered immediately against him,” Ms. Sharmila said in the letter.

“Serious allegations have been levelled against Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy. It was alleged that he received a bribe of ₹1,750 lakh crore for the agreements signed by the previous government with Adani’s Green Energy companies in 2021. Mr. Jagan has mortgaged the State for his selfish motives and drove the State into a debt trap,’‘ Ms. Sharmila alleged.

Ms Sharmila said the then government had entered into an agreement on December 1, 2021 through Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to purchase 7,000 MW of electricity from Adani for a period of 25 years. “The YSRCP government claimed it as an achievement, and asserted that the State would get electricity at a cheaper cost. An agreement was signed for purchasing one unit of power at ₹2.49 by the State, while the Gujarat government had signed an agreement with the same firm for getting power at ₹1.99 per unit. This means that the State government is purchasing power at an additional cost of 50 paise per unit compared to Gujarat,’‘ the APCC chief said.

Ms. Sharmila further added that though the then government claimed that there would be no additional charges, the rate per unit would cross ₹5 after taking into consideration transmission charges. “The purchase of power at a higher cost would burden the people of the State for the next 25 years and would cost the State exchequer a whopping ₹1.50 lakh crore,’‘ she alleged.

The APCC chief claimed that the PPAs were done at the behest of the then Chief Minister’s Office, and it was revealed by the then Energy Minister. “The former Energy Minister has gone on record stating that he had signed wherever he was asked to,’‘ she said.

Ms. Sharmila demanded immediate scrapping of all the PPAs and also to blacklist the company, and sought that the State State government order an investigation into the sale of Gangavaram port to the Adani Group “at a cheaper rate”.

Published - November 25, 2024 08:21 pm IST