MUMBAI: The Centre has ordered a probe into the proposed revision of the cost of Adani Green Energy’s 1,500 MW Tarali pumped storage project in Maharashtra’s Satara district, after the company submitted an estimate of Rs 56.75 crore against the Rs 5,675 crore recorded in its earlier environmental clearance documents.
The controversy centres on the impact the revised figure could have on the project’s mandatory wildlife conservation contribution. Based on the original estimate, the company was asked to deposit Rs 227 crore with the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. The revised figure would bring the contribution down to around Rs 2.27 crore.
The Union environment ministry directed Maharashtra’s forest department on November 6 to investigate the matter on priority, following a complaint by Rohan Bhate, an honorary wildlife warden in Satara. Bhate had approached the Prime Minister’s grievance portal and the Maharashtra chief minister’s office on October 30, questioning the revised estimate.
The Maharashtra forest department has sought an explanation and supporting documents from Adani Green Energy. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) M Srinivas Reddy told Hindustan Times that the department had not accepted the revised estimate and was awaiting the company’s response.
Adani Green Energy has denied allegations that it sought to lower the project cost to reduce its statutory obligations. In a statement, the company said the Rs 56.75-crore figure referred only to site investigation and survey expenses, which it said accounted for around 1% of the total project cost. It maintained that the State Board for Wildlife had considered the project’s total cost at Rs 5,675 crore.
The company also said the project was located entirely on private, non-forest land, around 3.2 km from the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary. It claimed the project was outside the notified buffer zone of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and would not affect any tiger corridor or notified eco-sensitive zone.
However, The Indian Express, which first reported the cost revision, cited official correspondence describing the project as being within the deemed eco-sensitive zone of the Koyna sanctuary. A letter from the sanctuary’s deputy director dated May 7, 2026, reportedly referred to the project’s location in the deemed eco-sensitive zone and the wildlife board’s conditions.
The project’s environmental clearance documents, dated February 11, 2025, recorded its estimated cost at Rs 5,675 crore. On February 23, 2026, the State Board for Wildlife recommended the project subject to 15 conditions, including a contribution of 4% of the project cost towards wildlife conservation.
In March, the state’s wildlife authorities sought a deposit of Rs 227 crore. Adani Green Energy subsequently submitted a notarised affidavit on September 8, stating that the project cost had been calculated using an analogous estimation and proposing Rs 56.75 crore as the figure for the relevant proposal.
A communication issued by the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests on October 12 referred to the revised amount and sought an initial deposit of 1%, with the remaining 3% payable after approval from the National Board for Wildlife. The company deposited Rs 56.75 lakh as the first instalment.
The project is proposed across 150.74 hectares in Patan taluka of Satara district. Its proposal is yet to receive consideration from the National Board for Wildlife.
The state forest department’s inquiry and the Centre’s direction are expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the revised estimate and the applicable wildlife conservation requirements.
(With inputs from media reports)