In what has raised questions over potential conflict of interest, the member of an expert committee meant to give independent advice to the Union Environment Ministry on the ecological impact of large hydropower projects was also found to be a full-time advisor to Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), one of India’s largest renewable energy companies.
He was also reportedly part of a meeting in October when a project by the company came up for evaluation, according to a report in The Indian Express on Tuesday.
Janardan Choudhary, a key advisor to AGEL, was named as one of seven non-institutional members of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for River and Hydroelectric Projects by the Union Environment Ministry this October.
The AGEL’s 1,500 megawatt (MW) Tarali pump storage project in Maharashtra’s Satara district came up for consideration during the reconstituted EAC’s first meeting on October 17-18, according to the minutes of the meeting available on the Environment Ministry’s PARIVESH portal.
Mr. Choudhary clarified to the Press Trust of India (PTI) that while he had attended the October 17 meeting, he had refrained from participating in the session focusing on AGEL’s Tarali project. The minutes of the meeting, perused by The Hindu, show that he participated in the meeting on October 17 “via video-conferencing” but was absent on October 18. The records, however, do not suggest that he recused himself from the meeting. The Hindu couldn’t immediately reach Mr. Choudhary for comment.
EAC members are typically academicians, Environment Ministry officials, and members of think tanks. A senior official in the Ministry, familiar with the procedures around EAC proceedings, told The Hindu on condition of anonymity that having members affiliated to industry in the EAC committees was not out of the ordinary and an accepted practice. This was because their practical experience was “invaluable” in ascertaining the impact of projects. However, all members had to declare their affiliations and recuse themselves from matters that could conflict with their position. Such recusals were expected to be noted in the minutes of the meeting, and this has been an established practice in the past. “It was possibly an oversight but this would require an explanation,” the official noted.
There was no official comment from the Environment Ministry on the matter.
Mr. Choudhary, who had a 36-year tenure with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited and retired as Director (Technical) of the public sector undertaking in March 2020, describes his role as ‘Full time advisor to AGEL’ on LinkedIn, the professional networking platform.
He also told the PTI that he had disclosed his affiliation with AGEL to the Environment Ministry before his appointment to the EAC. Mr. Choudhary was appointed to the EAC in September.
The primary function of the EACs is to offer recommendations to the Environment Ministry regarding project proposals after evaluating their potential impacts. Based on these recommendations, the Ministry decides on whether to reject the proposal or grant clearance with specific conditions to mitigate or compensate for the impacts.
The meeting records show that the 1,500 MW Tarali project, which involves, among other things, building a 61-metre high dam, was cleared by the EAC in September 2022 (when Mr. Choudhary was not a member of the committee). However, the company approached the EAC again, seeking permission for some structural changes to the project. These changes entailed widening the dam by nearly 100 metres, acquiring 41 hectares of private land, and abandoning an earlier plan to use 63 hectares of forest. This was cleared in October this year, at the controversial meeting.
The disclosure on Mr. Choudhary triggered sharp political reactions.
“Adani Pradhan Sevak appointed Adani employee Janardhan Choudhury as a member of EAC under Environment Ministry. This committee has to approve 6 Adani projects (10,300 MW),” the Kerala Congress posted on its official X account.
Shiv Sena (UBT or Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said on X: “Please don’t even mention conflict of interest etc. that applies for others not where friends with benefits are concerned.” “If an ethics committee can hold an elected member of parliament guilty for sharing email by calling it a national security and conflict of interest issue, how is a person working as an advisor to a private company, a company that has pending approvals in MoEFs EAC be allowed a seat on the EAC itself? No issues of conflict of interest applicable here? No reasons to investigate and find out how he made it there, who put him there & why is he the chosen one?” she said.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra, facing possible expulsion from the Lok Sabha following a recommendation by the Parliamentary Ethics Committee, said: “Modiji’s Ministry of Environment appointed Adani employee Janardhan Choudhury as a member of EAC - 6 Adani projects totaling 10300 MW up for appraisal by this @moefcc committee.”
(With inputs from PTI)
