Adani Green Energy's move to cut the estimated cost of its 1,500 MW Tarali pumped storage project in Maharashtra's Satara district by 99 per cent — from Rs 5,675 crore to Rs 56.75 crore — has triggered government inquiries and a political row, according to an investigation by The Indian Express published on Friday, November 13.

Source: The Indian Express via Power Corridors

The project is proposed on the Tarali dam reservoir in Patan taluka, spread over 150.74 hectares of non-forest land across the villages of Nivade, Tondoshi, Kalambe and Jalu. The site lies in the eco-sensitive zone of the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, which is part of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.

How the cost was revised

A Union Environment Ministry letter dated February 11, 2025, recommending prior environmental clearance for the project, recorded its estimated cost as Rs 5,675 crore. On September 8, 2026, Adani Green submitted a notarised affidavit, signed by its Chief Operating Officer Naresh Telgu, asking that the project cost be treated as Rs 56.75 crore instead. The office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) accepted the revised estimate on October 12, 2026, according to documents reviewed by The Indian Express. The company has described the earlier figure as an “analogous estimation”.

Because the wildlife conservation deposit is calculated as a share of the project cost, the revision cut that deposit from Rs 227 crore to about Rs 2.27 crore. Sahyadri Tiger Reserve Field Director Tushar Chavan confirmed that the company subsequently deposited Rs 56.75 lakh, the first instalment calculated on the lower figure, with the remaining amount payable after the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) considers the project.

Complaints and inquiries

Satara's honorary wildlife warden Rohan Bhate complained about the revision on October 30 through the Prime Minister's grievance portal and Maharashtra's Aaple Sarkar portal. On November 5, the Deputy Director of Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary was asked to examine the complaint, and on November 6 the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change directed the Maharashtra forest department to investigate the matter on priority. The Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife had earlier, on February 23, 2026, imposed 15 conditions while considering the Tarali proposal, and the project still awaits consideration by the NBWL.

Congress seeks a parliamentary probe

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh on Friday, November 13, described the reported reduction as a “scandal of gigantic proportions” — an allegation by the opposition party — and renewed the Congress demand, first made in March 2023, for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the Adani Group. There was no immediate response from the Adani Group, the Maharashtra government or the Union government to the Congress allegations.

Source: ANI via Indian Economic Observer

What happens next will depend on the findings of the Union and state inquiries and on the NBWL's consideration of the project. No date has been announced for an inquiry report.

Source: Dainik Jagran English