Congress flags 'concessions' being granted to Adani Ports in Gujarat

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday flagged "concessions" being granted to Adani Ports to "get control" over the Mundhra, Hazira and Dahej ports in Gujarat for 75 years on a Build-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT) basis and alleged that "the BOOT has become the loot".

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh referred to his remarks in August, in which he had alleged that the Gujarat government was helping Adani Ports to "secure a monopoly" on the state's port sector.

"Will the Modani A3G (Adani Asks, Adani Gets) force strike again? The BOOT that has become the LOOT," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Sometime in early 2024, Adani Ports asked the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to extend the period of concession for private ports on a Build-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT) basis from the present 30 years to 75 years, the Congress leader said, noting that this would go well beyond the maximum permissible period of 50 years.

"On March 12, 2024 the GMB met and recommended that (i) more bids be invited for port assets and operations; (ii) financial terms with existing operator (that is, Adani Ports) be re-negotiated; and (iii) differentiated rate structures for ports be developed and applied," he said.

A few days later, the GMB's recommendations were rejected by the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) and the chief minister himself, he pointed out.

The decks were cleared for Adani Ports to get control over the Mundhra, Hazira and Dahej ports for 75 years, Ramesh said, adding that "all these facts" came tumbling out in the public domain on August 14, 2024.

"The state's Finance Department then asked for some clarifications from the GMB on the amount of royalty revenue payable to the state by Adani Ports after the existing concession period expires in 2027/28. GMB's initial estimate of payment to be made to the state by Adani Ports was around Rs 1,700 crore per year while the company claimed it was just Rs 394 crore per year," he said.

"After this, all hell broke loose. Officers were transferred and numbers were reworked in a manner convenient to the company. The matter is presently resting with the finance department. Let us see what happens next," Ramesh said.

The Congress has been persistent with its attack on the government since the Adani Group stocks took a beating on the bourses in the wake of US-based short seller Hindenburg Research making a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, on the conglomerate headed by industrialist Gautam Adani.

The Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.