An advisor to Adani Green Energy Limited is a member of one of the Centre’s Expert Appraisal Committees before which the company’s hydro project proposals are placed for clearance, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
Adani Green is a renewable energy company owned by the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group.
The advisor, Janardan Choudhary, was appointed by the Union environment ministry as one of the seven non-institutional members of the committee for hydroelectricity and river valley projects on September 27, when the panel was reconstituted.
The Environmental Impact Assessment notification issued in 2006 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 mandates prior environmental clearance for certain types of projects. There are ten such panels that examine project proposals across different sectors. The committee members have three-year tenures.
Chaudhary attended the first meeting of the reconstituted committee on October 17, The Indian Express reported, citing the minutes of the meeting. On that day, Adani Green’s 1,500 megawatt Tarali pumping storage project in Maharashtra’s Satara district was taken up for consideration, the newspaper reported.
The renewable energy company had reportedly sought an amendment to the project’s Terms of Reference, which define the overall planning, to revise the layout after it realised that the proposed water conductor system passed “just below an existing wind farm”. The company had contended that construction below the foundations of the wind turbines would be difficult.
The committee recommended in favour of Adani Green after deliberations, the newspaper reported.
Choudhury told The Indian Express that he did not participate in the discussion when the committee considered Adani Green’s project. “I abstained when the matter came up,” Choudhury said.
However, the newspaper cited the minutes of the meeting as not having recorded any recusal. In response, Choudhury said, “We will amend the minutes”.
The newspaper quoted Yogendra Pal Singh, a scientist with the environment ministry and the member secretary of the committee, as saying that Choudhary was not part of the discussion on Adani Green project.
Responding to questions of a potential conflict of interest as some of Adani Green’s projects will be considered by the panel for clearance, Choudhury told The Indian Express said that the ministry was aware of his advisory role in a private company. “But I am nobody’s employee and I can advise others as well,” he said. “My EAC appointment is on the basis that, as a member, I will give my opinion in the interest of the EAC.”
Choudhary retired as the director (technical) of public sector hydropower company NHPC in March 2020. He has been an advisor for pumped storage plants and hydro at Adani Green since April 2022, according to The Indian Express.
‘Eej of doing bujiness’: Opposition
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to point out that six projects of the Adani Green Energy Limited “totalling 10300mw up for appraisal by this Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change committee” that Choudhary is a part of.
“Recently Adani’s 1500 MW Satara plant was approved by him,” said the Kerala Congress. “Eej of doing bujiness! [Ease of doing business]”
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned the conflict of interest in the appointment.
“Who are the other members of EAC?” she said. “Only one of them also happens to be a private company advisor and surprise surprise from AGEL.”
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