Adani indictment allegations against Jagan, Andhra government are incorrect: YSR Congress

Former Andhra CM accused of taking bribes from the Adani group for a solar power supply deal; YSR Congress insists it got all approvals, denies wrongdoing, and says the deal will benefit the State in the long term

Hours after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused the Adani group of bribing former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, among others, to the tune of $200 million (₹1,750 crore), the YSR Congress Party has refuted all the allegations.

The SEC indictment accused the Adanis of corruption in securing a 7 gigawatt solar power deal with the previous Andhra Pradesh government, led by the YSR Congress. The party has denied any irregularities and reiterated that the deal would benefit the State. There was no direct agreement between A.P.’s power distribution companies (discoms) and any Adani group firm, it said.

‘Incorrect allegations’

In its statement on Thursday (November 21, 2024) night, the YSR Congress said that the State government had received an offer from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Central government-owned enterprise functioning under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, to supply 7,000 MW of power at the lowest discovered tariff.

The Andhra Pradesh government had then entered into an arrangement to procure 7,000 MW of power from SECI at ₹2.49 per kWh for a 25-year period — with 3,000 MW commencing in this financial year 2024-25, another 3,000 MW commencing in 2025-26, and 1,000 MW commencing in 2026-27 — along with a waiver of the inter-State transmission system (ISTS) charges.

“It is worth mentioning that the power procurement of 7,000 MW was approved by Hon’ble APERC [Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission] vide its order dated 11-Nov-2021. After the APERC approval was obtained, the Power Sale Agreement (PSA) was signed on 1-Dec-2021 between SECI and AP Discoms.” the statement mentioned.

“This was after the [Central Electricity Regulatory Commission] CERC approval as well. It is necessary to mention that SECI is a Government of India enterprise. There is no direct agreement between AP DISCOMs and any other entities, including those belonging to the Adani group. Therefore, the allegations made [against] the State Government, in the light of the indictment, are incorrect,” the statement added.

‘Long-term benefits’

The YSR Congress also noted that there is an express stipulation in the Union Power Ministry’s order, to the effect that the ISTS charges shall be waived for 25 years with respect to projects selected under CECI’s 2019 tender (issued by RfS No. SECI/C&P/RfS/2GWMANUFACTURING/P-3/R1/062019 dated 25.06.2019). Therefore, the project does not entail any burden on account of ISTS charges, the YSR Congress said.

Owing to these reasons, the project is extremely favourable with respect to the interests of the State and procurement of power at such cheap rate would substantially benefit the State with a saving of ₹3,700 crore per annum. As the agreement is for a period of 25 years, the total benefit to the State on account of this agreement would be immense, the YSR Congress emphasised.

Published - November 21, 2024 11:23 pm IST