Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday, January 2, said that the state government cannot cancel power purchase agreements with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) without obtaining concrete proof to back the bribery allegations.
The Chief Minister's comments come a month after Andhra Pradesh Power Distribution Companies’ decision to procure over 4,000 million units of power from SECI, out of the total agreed 17,000 MU from the next financial year. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said that no action will be taken against Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) over allegations of bribery until "concrete proof" is established.
CM Chandrababu emphasised that he could proceed with action against anybody only after thoroughly establishing documentary proof. He was answering questions from reporters as to why he is not acting against certain individuals.
"I never indulge in political vendettas. However, I will not spare wrongdoers,” he added.
“We are getting proper documentation and once we get that then we will take action if there was any corruption involved. If we cancel the MoUs right away then it may lead to legal issues and unnecessary complications," Chandrababu Naidu said in an informal interaction with reporters at the TDP headquarters.
The Andhra Pradesh government’s decision comes in the backdrop of charges against the Adani Group by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York which alleged ‘bribery and securities fraud’ related to solar energy projects in India. The charges alleged that following the promise of bribes to Indian government officials between July 2021 and February 2022, state electricity distribution companies for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir entered into power supply agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) – a public sector undertaking, that acts, among other things, as an intermediary for power procurement – under the Manufactured Linked Project. Of this, Andhra Pradesh agreed to purchase seven gigawatts of solar power.
The charges also speak of Rs 1,750 crore being 'offered' to a high ranking official, former Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was in power from May 2019 to June 2024. The charges state that Gautam Adani personally met with Jagan and offered Rs 1,750 crore in exchange for the official getting AP's state electricity distribution companies to agree to purchase the seven gigawatts of power from SECI.
Reacting to the bribery charges against the former chief minister, Chandrababu had said in November 2024 that Jagan “damaged the brand image” of the state.