Gujarat govt helping Adani Ports secure monopoly, alleges Cong; demands JPC probe

The Congress on Wednesday (August 14) reiterated its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue while alleging that the Gujarat government was helping Adani Ports to "secure a monopoly" in the port sector.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Gujarat government grants private ports a 30-year concession period on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis, after which ownership gets transferred to the state administration.

On the basis of this model, Adani Ports currently wields control over the Mundra, Hazira and Dahej ports, he said.

Allegations against Gujarat Maritime Board

Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Adani Ports requested the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to extend this concession period by another 45 years so that the ownership extends to 75 years, Ramesh said.

“This was much beyond the maximum permissible period of 50 years, but the GMB hastened to request the Gujarat government to do so anyways. The GMB was in such a hurry that it did so without approval from its board, resulting in the file's return," he alleged.

He said the GMB recommended the Gujarat government to protect its revenue interests after the passage of the 30-year concession by inviting bids from other potential operators and companies or renegotiating financial terms with Adani.

No new bids

Ramesh said that upset over the possibility of competition, the GMB’s decision was revised to recommend the extension of the concession period for Adani without inviting new bids or renegotiating the terms.

The chief minister and all others hastened to ensure that this proposal went through and received clearances from all stakeholders required, he said.

"Here are at least two serious consequences of this daylight robbery – Adani Ports will secure a monopoly on Gujarat's port sector, harming market competition, and driving up prices for the common man. Adani Ports will see its valuation rise and borrowing costs fall," he said.

Loss for Gujarat govt

By failing to open up the process to a renegotiation or competitive bidding, the government of Gujarat will lose crores of rupees in revenues, Ramesh said.

"This is why a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation is essential," Ramesh said.

In another post on X, the Congress leader cited a power ministry office memorandum to claim that an Adani firm has been permitted to sell the electricity it generates from Jharkhand to sell to Bangladesh in India itself.

"The non-biological PM moves with lightning speed when the interests of his favourite tempo wallah are involved. Adani imports coal from Australia to generate power in Jharkhand and supply it to Bangladesh. It is the only company allowed to do so through a power purchase agreement which has been very controversial," he said.

Now the company has been permitted to sell that electricity in India itself, Ramesh said.

Hindenburg row

Adani Group stocks took a beating on the bourses in the wake of US-based short seller Hindenburg Research making a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, on the conglomerate headed by industrialist Gautam Adani.

The Hindenburg Research on Saturday (August 10) launched a fresh broadside against market regulator SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, alleging she and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal. Both Buch and Adani Group have rubbished the allegations.

(With inputs from agencies)