BJD says US allegations of Adani paying bribes to Odisha govt officials 'false'

Bhubaneswar: The BJD which was in power in Odisha from 2000 till June 2024, on Friday, said the allegations that state government officials took bribes from the Adani Group for supply of renewable energy to the state from the central pool, are "false and not based on fact." Adani, India's second-richest man, and seven others, including his nephew Sagar Adani, have been charged by the US Department of Justice for paying bribes to unidentified government officials of several states including Odisha to buy expensive solar power, potentially earning more than USD 2 billion in profit over 20 years.

Adani Group, however, denied the charges saying the allegations by US prosecutors are "baseless" and the conglomerate is "compliant with all laws" Former Odisha Energy minister and BJD MLA PK Deb said, "The types of allegations made in the name of Odisha are baseless and not based on facts."

"The Government of Odisha has nothing to do with the agreement. Whatever agreement was done that remained confined among Gridco, the distribution company and the SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited), a central PSU. The state government has no role in all these matters though the administration was informed regarding the PSA", Deb told PTI.

He claimed that there is a difference between Odisha and other states.

"We in Odisha have privatised the power distribution while other states are doing the job directly. Here Tata Power is doing the distribution part of the electricity supply", he said, adding that the agreement may involve Adani, SECI, Gridco and the distribution company.

"All the agreements on power get the approval of the OERC (Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission), an autonomous body. The Gridco is also semi-autonomous. Therefore, the state government has no direct role in the agreements. Neither the Energy department minister nor the secretary are involved in all such agreements", Deb said.

Gridco, a state PSU is presently engaged in bulk purchase and bulk sale of power to the four distribution companies inside Odisha and trading of surplus power through traders to promote exchange of power with neighbouring states in the country.