Adani Facing Legal Challenge in Bangladesh Over Power Agreements

A legal notice has been issued to relevant authorities in Bangladesh, demanding the termination of all electricity agreements with India’s Adani Group. Barrister M. Kaiyum sent this letter by post on Wednesday, calling for an “immediate reconsideration or complete cancellation of the unjust, one-sided agreements.”

The notice stipulates that if no action is taken within three days to review the agreements, a writ petition will be submitted to the High Court. It further requests the establishment of a review committee consisting of energy and legal experts to compile a comprehensive report.

The chairman of the Bangladesh Power Development Board and the energy ministry secretary have been given three days to respond to the notice. Under instructions from the Power Division, a fast-tracked agreement for power purchase was signed with Adani in 2017. At that time, no coal-based power plants were operational in Bangladesh. One of these agreements is a 25-year power purchase arrangement with Adani, signed in 2017.

Electricity is currently supplied to Bangladesh from Adani’s 1,600MW power plant in Jharkhand, an eastern state of India. During a national review committee meeting on September 28, a decision was made to gather data on 11 power plants. The Power Division has been instructed to submit this data and relevant documents to the committee, including details on Adani’s power plant in India.