Adani Satara Project Probe: Cost Cut 100x to Rs 56.75 Crore

Following a complaint by Rohan Bhate, Honorary Wildlife Warden, Satara district, registered on October 30 with the Prime Minister’s grievance redressal portal and to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra through the state government’s Aaple Sarkar grievance redressal portal, alleging “incorrect cost of the project”, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has directed the state forest department on November 6 to investigate the matter on priority.

The state forest department has also initiated a probe.

The Tarali Pumped Storage Project

The 1,500 megawatt Tarali Pumped Storage Project (PSP) is proposed on the Tarali dam reservoir and is spread over 150.74 hectares of non-forest land in Nivade, Tondoshi, Kalambe and Jalu villages in Patan taluka of Satara district. According to the state forest department, the project passes through the buffer/ deemed Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of Koyna WildLife Sanctuary in Satara, which is part of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR).

The Indian Express visited the project site near Tondoshi in Patan taluka where work is currently underway.

What Adani Group said

When asked about complaints of incorrect project cost, an Adani Group spokesperson said, “All the Tarali PSP elements are within private land ownership across three revenue villages in Patan taluka and have no Forest land. PSPs do not have any adverse impact on the downstream ecology, environment, forest, or wildlife in the area during operations.”

“In fact, the smaller ponds that are created from moving the same water between two reservoirs, have a positive impact on the local ecology as there shall be water content/ humidity in air surrounding the pondage helping/ supporting the flora and fauna around it all throughout the year.” The spokesperson did not respond to the specific question on the revised project cost.

Rs 227 cr: The 4% deposit

After the Environment Clearance, the State Board for Wildlife met on February 23, 2026, to consider the proposal. It laid down 15 conditions, one of which required the company to make a deposit of 4% of the project cost to the bank account of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve for wildlife sanctuary conservation.

A senior forest officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “The ESZ of Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary has not been notified yet. As per the Supreme Court directions, a 10 km radius area around the sanctuary is considered as deemed ESZ. The Tarali PSP is located within the deemed ESZ. As per existing norms, private companies setting up projects in ESZ are asked to deposit up to 4% of the project cost for forest conservation and protection. Accordingly, Adani Green Energy Limited was told to deposit Rs 227 crores to STR.”

Maharashtra’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) and Chief Warden for Wildlife M Srinivas Reddy first wrote to the company in March 2026 asking it to deposit Rs 227 crore and submit an affidavit confirming it would fulfil all other 14 conditions. After this, the project proposal would be forwarded to the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) for consideration, he said.

But then, Adani Green Energy Chief Operating Officer Naresh Telgu submitted the notarised affidavit about the project cost to Reddy. In the letter Telgu said, “As stated in the enclosed affidavit, while submitting Part IV of the proposal, the project cost was considered based on an analogous estimation. We respectfully request that project cost mentioned herein may kindly be considered for the subject proposal.”

The notarised affidavit itself states: “While submitting the part IV the cost of the project is considered based on analogous estimation, we considered as INR 56.75 crore, request you to please consider the same as project cost.”

On October 12, Reddy wrote again to Adani Green Energy stating that his office has agreed to the notarised affidavit listing the project cost as Rs 56.75 crore, and has submitted a letter requesting the government to present the project before NBWL’s standing committee.

‘Deposit Rs 0.5675 crores’

The letter further asked the company to immediately deposit “Rs 0.5675 crores”, which is 1% of the revised project cost of Rs 56.75 crore to the STR. The remaining 3% or “Rs 1.7075 crores” should be paid after NBWL’s approval, the letter said.

When contacted, Reddy told The Indian Express, “You should ask the company why it submitted an affidavit with a revised project cost.”

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve Field Director Tushar Chavan confirmed that Adani Green Energy deposited Rs 56.75 lakh (1% of revised project cost) into STR’s bank account.

‘Investigate matter on priority’

In its letter to the state PCCF (Wildlife) on November 6 calling for a probe, the MoEF&CC said, “The protection, conservation and management of the wildlife, including mitigation measures, is primarily the responsibility of the State/UT government. In this context, it is requested to investigate the matter on priority and to take appropriate action. A suitable reply may be furnished directly to the applicant under intimation to this Ministry.”

Following Bhate’s complaint to the Chief Minister, the Deputy Director of Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary too was asked on November 5 to inquire into it and take further action as per rules.

When contacted, Bhate said that if a private project cuts through the Eco-Sensitive Zone of a notified tiger corridor, asking its proponent to deposit up to 4% of the project cost for wildlife conservation and protection, is an established procedure under the statutory laws.

“Accordingly, the State Board for Wildlife rightfully laid a condition that Adani Green Energy Limited should deposit Rs 227 crore to Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. It is shocking that the forest department accepted the company’s affidavit in which it has, by placing a decimal in between, stated the project cost as Rs 56.75 crore, which is 100 times lesser than actual estimate.”

“Even a layman would understand that such a huge power project cannot happen on such a low budget. Furthermore, giving an undue concession or discount of about Rs 225 crore, the company was asked to deposit just Rs 2.275 crore. This decision should be revoked immediately. The government should investigate the matter impartially and punish all those who are found guilty,” Bhate said.