Principal Secretary , New and Renewable energy,IAS Meenakshi Sundaram rubbishes allegations on Thermal Power Bid, calls tender process transparent and regulator-approved

Dehradun: Principal Secretary , New and Renewable energy, IAS Meenakshi Sundaram today strongly rebutted the allegations made at a press conference in Delhi regarding the state’s long-term Thermal Power procurement.

In a detailed video statement, Sundaram said the entire process was done transparently as per Government of India guidelines and with approval of Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC).

On the question of why the power plant was not set up through the THDC-UJVNL joint venture, he clarified that the process was indeed initiated through the JV. However, after THDC became an NTPC subsidiary, NTPC issued a circular on January 30, 2025, stating that THDC will only work in hydro and pumped storage, not thermal. The NTPC Board then rejected the thermal proposal and THDC backed out. Therefore, the state had to go for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) route.

Countering the allegation of 84 changes in the tender document, the Power Secretary said the claim is completely false. The Government of India’s Standard Bidding Document allows states to make minor changes with approval from the state regulator. UPCL took formal approval from UERC and made only 5-6 changes, not 84.

On why the plant will be set up outside Uttarakhand, he said there is no ban on setting it up in Uttarakhand, but it is more economical to set up a thermal plant at the pit-head, near the coal mine. Transportation of coal is costlier than transmission of power. This is a standard practice followed by most states. The coal block has already been allocated by the Ministry of Coal.

He informed that 5 major companies participated in the competitive bidding, 3 reached the financial bid stage, and the lowest bidder was selected. No participating company has raised any objection.

Justifying the need for thermal power, Sundaram said as per the Central Electricity Authority’s Resource Adequacy Plan, Uttarakhand has been recommended long-term thermal power to meet base load. At present the state is almost entirely dependent on hydro and solar, which causes severe power shortage in winter.

He added that the state had initially applied for a public sector plant and got coal allocation after recommendations from CEA and Ministry of Power. After THDC backed out, the state requested the Ministry of Coal for a category change to TBCB mode, which was examined and approved by the Government of India.
It may be recalled that the Congress party has scathingly attacked the BJP government at the centre and State accusing it to cancel the proposal after the exercise of six months to purely benefit the Gautam Adani company which has secured the tender for the 1320 mega watt power plant at Chattisgarh cancelling the earlier proposal to built the Thermal Power plant in Uttarakhand by the government undertakings UJVN and THDC. The Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera have accused the BJP central government and the Uttarakhand CM to cancel the power project to be built in Uttarakhand to oblige Gautam Adani. In a lengthy tweet in X Jairam Ramesh had said yesterday : If Modi wants it, nothing is impossible!

Across BJP-ruled states in the country, an open loot of the people’s rights is underway to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s capitalist friend Adani.

A fresh example of this has emerged in Uttarakhand.

To buy electricity for 25 years from Adani’s power plant in Chhattisgarh, the Uttarakhand BJP government scrapped the proposed joint public sector project of government enterprises UJVN and THDC and changed 84 out of 86 conditions in the new tender.

Today, with these important revelations, my colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Shri Pawan Khera ji held a press conference at the Congress headquarters.

We believe that this case of creating a monopoly for Adani under the ‘Modani Model’ by sidelining rules, laws, and the interests of the people is objectionable and highly condemnable. The people of Uttarakhand are watching everything, and the BJP will definitely get an answer for this in the upcoming assembly elections.

“There is no irregularity in the tendering process,” he asserted.