Adani solar project: Opposition walks out of LS over minister’s ‘insufficient’ reply
Opposition MPs led by the Congress, walked out of the Lok Sabha in protest, alleging that Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, failed to provide a satisfactory reply to the question on the Adani Group being granted a solar energy project in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch, compromising national security guidelines. Answering a question on national security concerns by Manish Tewari of the Congress on the relaxations granted to the project, which is situated one kilometre away from the border, Pralhad Joshi said all necessary clearances from the Union government and the state government have been obtained. Live : My reply in Lok Sabha on questions related to @mnreindia https://t.co/NXIGah3OOY— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) March 12, 2025 TNM had earlier reported on how land initially allocated to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in a strategic border area in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch was ultimately transferred to the Adani Group. The Union government had also relaxed national security protocols to allow the Adani Group to set up a mega solar energy park in Khavda, close to the India-Pakistan border. The land – 23,000 hectares – was initially allotted to SECI, a public sector firm, by the Gujarat government in Kutch, as part of a renewable energy park. In April 2023, the Defence Ministry relaxed border restrictions in the Kutch region near Pakistan's border, allowing wind turbines to be constructed 1 km from the border and solar panels 2 km from the border after SECI raised concerns about project viability. Despite these relaxations addressing SECI's concerns, the public sector company surrendered its 23,000 hectares of land in July 2023, allegedly on instructions from the Renewable Energy Minister. Adani Group now holds 445 sq km in the Khavda Solar Park.
OPPOSITION MPs led by the Congress, walked out of the Lok Sabha in protest, alleging that Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, failed to provide a satisfactory reply to the question on the Adani Group being granted a solar energy project in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch, compromising national security guidelines.
Answering a question on national security concerns by Manish Tewari of the Congress on the relaxations granted to the project, which is situated 1 km away from the border, Pralhad Joshi said all necessary clearances from the Union government and the state government have been obtained.
Live : My reply in Lok Sabha on questions related to @mnreindia https://t.co/NXIGah3OOY
— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) March 12, 2025
TNM had earlier reported on how land initially allocated to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in a strategic border area in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch was ultimately transferred to the Adani Group.
The Union government had also relaxed national security protocols to allow the Adani Group to set up a mega solar energy park in Khavda, close to the India-Pakistan border.
The land – 23,000 hectares – was initially allotted to SECI, a public sector firm, by the Gujarat government in Kutch, as part of a renewable energy park.
In April 2023, the Defence Ministry relaxed border restrictions in the Kutch region near Pakistan's border, allowing wind turbines to be constructed 1 km from the border and solar panels 2 km from the border after SECI raised concerns about project viability.
Despite these relaxations addressing SECI's concerns, the public sector company surrendered its 23,000 hectares of land in July 2023, allegedly on instructions from the Renewable Energy Minister. Adani Group now holds 445 sq km in the Khavda Solar Park.
