Interview: Senior Chhattisgarh minister opposes Land Takeover by New Delhi for Adani Coal Mine in Hasdeo forests. ‘We oppose any action that forestalls people from exercising their better judgement and tries to take their land away’
In a letter to Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Congress MP Kumar Ketkar has claimed that the government is displaying ‘inexplicable tardiness’ in collecting its dues payable by Reliance Industries Limited, the ‘true licensee’ of the telecom spectrum that is used by its ‘front’ company Infotel, which later became its subsidiary, Jio.
An amount not less than Rs 37,500 crore is owed to the government by two bankrupt telecom companies, Reliance Communications and Aircel. How these past dues are to be paid is a contentious issue that was left hanging in the balance by the Supreme Court in its September verdict in the so-called AGR (adjusted gross revenue) case.
In Sundergarh district of northern Odisha, over 700 Adivasi families are facing displacement due to construction of a railway line that will facilitate the transport of coal from Dhamra port for use in the Adani group’s under-construction power plant in Godda, Jharkhand.
Civil society member, however, feel this is still too short a period for any meaningful public consultations on wide-ranging structural reforms in the mines and mineral sector. Also, it excludes the affected communities.
On August 31, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra approved the decision by electricity regulators to grant Adani Power “compensatory tariffs” amounting to Rs 8,000 crore for electricity generated at its power plant in Rajasthan. The verdict is the seventh judgment since 2019 in which benches headed by him have ruled in favour of Adani group companies.
The recent verdict by the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra, one of his last judgements before retirement, on the so-called AGR or adjusted gross revenues case could lead to the formation of a duopoly in India’s telecom sector.
Members of civil society and concerned activists have condemned a proposal for mining reforms issued by the Ministry of Mines. The notice that was made public on August 24 proposing substantive changes to mineral laws, rules, and regulations, is seeking public comments within a period of 10 days.
The COVID-19-induced nationwide lockdown, while hitting the ports and shipping sector hard, saw Adani Ports and SEZ make significant gains in its plan to expand and consolidate its business. In this first of a 2-part story on the Adani group company, Newsclick rounds up the developments.
