Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has described the reported reduction in Adani Green’s Satara project cost from ₹5,675 crore to ₹56.75 crore as a “scandal of gigantic proportions”, questioning the group’s rapid expansion and demanding a parliamentary inquiry.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, November 13: The Congress has renewed its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the Adani Group after reports that Adani Green Energy Limited sought to slash the estimated cost of its 1,500 MW pumped-storage project in Maharashtra’s Satara district by 99 per cent.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh described the reported revision as a “scandal of gigantic proportions” and accused the Modi government of allowing the Adani Group to expand its business empire without adequate scrutiny.
The controversy follows a report stating that Adani Green Energy wants to reduce the projected cost of its Tarali pumped-storage project from ₹5,675 crore to just ₹56.75 crore.
The proposed revision would also bring down the company’s wildlife conservation deposit from ₹227 crore to approximately ₹2.27 crore, raising questions about the financial obligations attached to a project located in an ecologically sensitive area.
READ: Adani Green Slashes Satara Power Project Cost by 99%; Wildlife Levy Falls from ₹227 Cr to ₹2.27 Cr
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change directed the Maharashtra forest department on November 6 to investigate the matter on priority. The action followed a complaint lodged on October 30 through the Prime Minister’s grievance redressal portal and the Maharashtra government’s Aaple Sarkar portal, alleging that the project cost had been incorrectly assessed.
Over the past decade, the Modani conglomerate’s astronomical expansion has been a saga of well-documented scams. The Indian National Congress has, since March 2023, been demanding a thorough investigation through a Joint Parliamentary Committee(JPC) into its growth and takeover of company after company, industry after industry after industry, public asset after public asset, that had been documented in detail.
Now comes another extraordinary revelation in a leading daily that had earlier exposed the CEC Gyanesh Kumar. It is truly sensational.
Modani has slashed its project cost for a 1500 MW pumped storage power project in Maharashtra. A project which was sanctioned last year for Rs 5,675 crore is now stated in an affidavit to have a cost of Rs 56.75 crore. It is a 99% reduction!!!
This is unbelievable and yet another example of what Modani is always able to get away with. It points to a scandal of gigantic proportions reinforcing the demand for a JPC into its operations.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 13, 2026
The Maharashtra forest department has subsequently initiated an inquiry into the complaint.
Reacting to the development in a post on X, Ramesh alleged that the Adani Group’s rapid expansion over the past decade had been accompanied by a series of controversies and irregularities.
“Over the past decade, the Modani conglomerate’s astronomical expansion has been a saga of well-documented scams,” he wrote.
Ramesh said the Congress had been seeking a comprehensive JPC investigation into the group’s expansion, acquisitions and takeovers of companies, industries and public assets since March 2023.
Referring to the latest report, which he described as “truly sensational”, the Congress leader questioned how a project initially estimated at ₹5,675 crore could suddenly be valued at just ₹56.75 crore.
He pointed out that the revised estimate appeared in an affidavit submitted by the company, representing a 99 per cent reduction in the projected cost.
Describing the revision as “unbelievable”, Ramesh alleged that the episode raised serious questions about the manner in which the group operated and the scrutiny it faced from government authorities.
He said the development reinforced the Congress’s demand for a JPC inquiry into the Adani Group’s business activities.
There was no immediate response from the Adani Group, the Maharashtra government or the Union government to the allegations raised by the Congress.
