NEW DELHI: Congress on Thursday accused Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of scrapping a public-sector joint venture for a 1,320 MW thermal power plant and rewriting tender rules to hand the project to the Adani Group, locking the hill state into a Rs 1.66 lakh crore, 25-year power purchase agreement.
Addressing the media at the AICC office on Akbar Road, party media in-charge Pawan Khera called the episode “(PSU) Pushkar Selling Uttarakhand” and a return of the “Modani model.” He opened the briefing by paying tribute to Periyar on his birth anniversary before presenting what he described as a documented chronology.
In July 2024, Dhami wrote to the Union coal minister proposing a joint venture between Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) and THDC India Limited for a round-the-clock 1,320 MW plant, seeking coal linkage under the SHAKTI policy. Central approval followed. Six months later, on 16 January 2025, the state cancelled the JV, claiming the PSUs could not meet the timeline—despite presentations from the two companies that they could, Khera said. Principal Secretary (Power) R. Meenakshi Sundaram chaired the meeting that ended the public-sector route.
On 3 February 2025, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited floated a fresh tender. The same day, Adani Power applied for environmental clearance for expansion at Korba in Chhattisgarh. Adani had already moved to acquire Lanco Amarkantak Power (also 1,320 MW) through NCLT proceedings.
Khera alleged that 84 of 86 tender conditions were then altered. The entire 1,320 MW had to come from a single bidder; the plant could be located anywhere in India; construction timelines were stretched to 42 and 48 months for the two units; and the fixed-charge ceiling was raised from 70 per cent to 75 per cent. The last change, he said, guaranteed the developer payment for 25 years whether Uttarakhand drew the power or not. Transmission costs from a plant a thousand kilometres away would be borne by state consumers.
Coal linkage, he added, would come from the Pelma block in Chhattisgarh, where an Adani company is already mine developer and operator. Cabinet approval locked in a PPA of Rs 1.66 lakh crore at Rs 5.74 per unit from 25 August 2026.
“Gautam sharanam gacchami,” Khera said. “One man is heavy on everyone—from Uttarakhand to Chhattisgarh.” He asked why the JV was cancelled, why the tender was “pitch-prepared” for one bidder, why consumers must pay even if they do not take the power, and why officers involved were rewarded despite complaints. Dhami remains in office, he noted.
Congress would take the issue to the streets in Uttarakhand, Khera said, holding the state government, not the businessman, primarily responsible. “The businessman will take profit if a red carpet is rolled out. The problem is with those who change 84 rules.”
In replies to questions he also criticised the UPI MDR-plus-GST levy, recent US tariff and drugs-list actions, and what he called a “complete collapse” of foreign policy after BRICS, while saying birthday greetings to the Prime Minister were in order but state-directed school celebrations were not.
