The prices of shares of six publicly-listed companies in the Adani Group fell off the cliff on Monday after India’s securities depository froze the trading accounts of three Mauritius-based funds that hold stakes worth close to US $6 billion in these Group firms. At their lowest level, the six stocks fell in value by an estimated 17.7 billion Australian dollars.
In a rare instance of not getting its way, the Adani Group failed earlier this year to acquire the assets of the scandal-tainted finance company, DHFL. However, with messy legal disputes potentially de-railing the outcome of the bankruptcy process, there is a chance that a fresh round of bidding may yet take place. This would put Adani back in the race for DHFL’s assets.
Recent media reports suggest that the State Bank of India (SBI) – India’s largest public bank – is ‘all set to offer’ a billion-dollar loan to Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Australia. These reports come five years after a similar proposal was scuttled. In the absence of official confirmation from the SBI, the community has re-launched protests against the bank.
Angry at news reports that the State Bank of India is about to loan Adani money for its Carmichael mine, campaigners in the Indian state of Goa have protested outside the bank’s offices. The action was in solidarity with similar protests occurring in Australia and around the world. It is the first StopAdani protest to occur in India.
Rival investors are up in arms as the Adani group makes a last-minute attempt to acquire a bankrupt home-loan company in India. One such investor, the Piramal group, has written a letter to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that Adani’s attempt violates the rules of the bidding process.
In the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, billions of tonnes of coal lie beneath the ancestral forested lands of the Gond people. This is elephant habitat. In June, AdaniWatch reported on the state government’s proposal to establish a large elephant reserve in the area. The central government of Narendra Modi, however, is seeking to enable an expansion of coal mines run by the Adani Group.
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 July 2020, an ABC report brought the dispossession of Indian villagers for an Adani power plant to national attention in Australia. The power plant is located at Godda, about 400 km north of Kolkata. Upon completion, it is intended to be the destination for coal from Adani’s mine in Queensland. Here, AdaniWatch reports on the dirty tricks used to acquire the land farmed by indigenous people for generations.
An ancient way of life is threatened as coal mines destroy the forests of the Hasdeo Aranya, but the people are fighting back, taking control of local governments.
