Gujarat purchased power worth ₹10,896 crore from Adani over 3 years: Congress

Blaming BJP for promoting “crony capitalism”, the Congress said that the Gujarat government, in a bid to ensure huge profits to four private companies, has purchased electricity at much higher prices while state owned power plants were running at deplorably low capacities.

The period includes years when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state.

In a press conference held in Ahmedabad, AICC media in-charge Randeep Surjewala claimed, “Between the years 2002-2016, Gujarat government purchased electricity worth a mind boggling ₹62,549 crore from the four private companies.”

This is the highest purchase from private companies in India, alleged Congress.

The four companies – Adani, ESSAR, Tata and China Light Power, according to the Congress were allowed to make huge profits from the electricity purchase. Among them, Adani appears to be the biggest beneficiary.

As per the data released by Congress, Gujarat government purchased electricity worth of ₹ 10,896 crore from Adani owned company in just three years. Electricity worth ₹ 3471 crore were purchased in 2013-14 while that worth ₹ 3583 crore in 2014-15 and ₹ 3842 crore in 2015-16 was purchased by the BJP government.

The Congress blamed the BJP government of subverting the production capacity of the state-owned power plants. Highlighting the “systematic undermining of power structure” by BJP, the Congress said, “BJP government has been purchasing power from private companies at unimaginably high rates of ₹ 24.67 per unit” while the state-owned NTPC supplied electricity at the rate of ₹ 2.88-3.17 per unit.

The Congress said BJP’s claim of making Gujarat a power-surplus state stood exposed.