Adani Green Energy Limited pushed back hard on Friday against allegations that it deliberately downscaled the capital cost of its 1,500-MW Tarali pumped storage project in Maharashtra to skirt mandatory statutory dues.
The claims are baseless. In an official rejoinder, a company spokesperson termed allegations that the clean-energy major engineered a downward cost revision to diminish conservation payouts "completely misleading." The regulatory dispute centers on entries submitted to state environmental clearing portals, where external critics argued the company attempted to depress statutory payments by reporting an artificially low asset valuation.
According to the company, the administrative confusion stems from a fundamental misreading of distinct regulatory submissions. The initial online filing across forest and wildlife portals covered exclusively site investigation and pre-construction survey work—not the total capital expenditure required to build the hydro infrastructure.
The math was straightforward. In industrial engineering, site assessment outlays generally track at approximately 1 per cent of gross capital expenditure.
"Since site investigation costs are around 1 per cent of project costs, therefore clarification of the project Rs 56.75 crore representing solely the site investigations and survey costs, for the online proposal was provided," an Adani Green Energy spokesperson stated. The broader regulatory apparatus evaluated the real number. Maharashtra's State Board for Wildlife reviewed the enterprise against its full capital assessment of ₹5,675 crore.
| Project Parameter | Verified Detail | Regulatory Status |
|---|---|---|
| Asset Name | Tarali Pumped Storage Project (PSP) | Under regulatory evaluation |
| Generating Capacity | 1,500 MW | Proposed hydro storage |
| Total Project Capital Outlay | ₹5,675 crore | Evaluated by State Board for Wildlife |
| Site Investigation & Survey Cost | ₹56.75 crore | Clarified on forest/wildlife portal (1%) |
| Distance to Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary | 3.2 km | Outside sanctuary boundaries |
| Forest Land Diversion | Zero |
Beyond the valuation filings, the company dismantled assertions that lower declared numbers aimed to deflate forest compensation levies. Statutory offsets apply to forest land takeovers. Yet the Tarali facility bypasses state timberlands altogether.
Yet the physical layout tells its own story. The 1,500-MW installation sits on private, non-forest land and remains structurally detached from protected woodland boundaries.
The Tarali PSP is situated entirely on private, non-forest land and 3.2 kms away from the Koyna wildlife sanctuary. It is outside the notified buffer zone of Sahyadri Tiger reserve and in no way impacts or fringes upon the tiger corridor or any notified Eco
Sensitive zone (ESZ). The project does not cause diversion of any protected areas, any reserve forest or notified ESZ." — Adani Green Energy Spokesperson
No forest will be cleared. No corridor will be fragmented. Because the site avoids all notified tiger routes, reserve forests, and designated buffer parcels, the threshold triggers for forest compensatory levies do not legally apply to the parcel, the company noted.
Further administrative reviews of the Tarali pumped storage blueprint now move forward under the State Board for Wildlife, which continues processing the project documentation under the unified ₹5,675 crore capital framework.
| Located entirely on private, non-forest land |
| Buffer Zone Status | Outside Sahyadri Tiger Reserve buffer | Zero encroachment on notified ESZ |