Centre approves Adani Power’s plan to link Godda plant to Indian grid: Report
New Delhi: The Centre has approved Adani Power Limited’s (APL) proposal to connect its Godda Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plant in Jharkhand to the Indian power grid, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
The plant, which currently supplies electricity exclusively to Bangladesh, will be linked to the domestic grid through a Line-In Line-Out (LILO) connection to the Kahalgaon A–Maithon B 400 KV transmission line.
To lay the proposed transmission line—passing through 56 villages across the Godda and Poreyahat tehsils in Jharkhand’s Godda district—the Centre has granted Adani Power Limited (APL) the same powers as those held by the telegraph authority under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. This allows APL to place and maintain transmission lines and posts under, over, along, or across any immovable property as permitted by the Act.
The Power Ministry’s order comes in the wake of several amendments to regulations to enable this transmission connectivity to the APL’s Godda plant, including the ministry’s move to amend the guidelines for import and export of electricity, the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) move to amend procedure for facilitating cross border flows, among others, the report added.
Declared a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in March 2019, APL’s Godda power plant supplies electricity exclusively to Bangladesh. However, following a regime change in Dhaka in August 2024, the Indian government had allowed as an interim arrangement to connect the Godda plant with Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS), a high-voltage network in India that transmits electricity across state borders, enabling power flow from surplus regions to areas with deficits and ensuring grid stability.
APL, earlier called Adani Power Jharkhand Ltd, wrote to the Ministry of Power on August 6, 2024, a day after the ouster of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5. In the letter, it informed the government that “given the sustained increase in power demand across India, it would be beneficial if their generating station could cater to such demand in India, when the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is not scheduling power from the plant on account of low demand, any default under PPA or any geo-political issue.”
The latest approval by the Power Ministry is granted for 25 years. APL must secure clearances from relevant authorities including local bodies, Railways, and the Civil Aviation and Defence ministries. The transmission line can only be operated after approval from the Centre’s electrical inspector and in compliance with the Electricity Act, 2003.
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Women's quota bill would have ensured defeat of democracy, Constitution: Aaditya Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said that the passage of the women's quota bill would have ensured a "total defeat of democracy", alleging that the legislation, linked with a delimitation exercise, was a political tool designed to reduce the voice of states.
Thackeray, in a post on X, claimed that the Bill would have amended the Constitution for the political means of the ruling regime to increase seats, reduce the voice of many states and enable the gerrymandering of constituencies to ensure unfair victories.
"The very amendment that would have ensured the total defeat of democracy and the Constitution in India stands rejected by the unity of the Opposition MPs," he wrote.
The legislation should have been called "Delimitation to ensure unfair victory Bill", the former minister said, adding that there was a genuine need to enable 33 per cent reservation for women in the current number of seats.
"Now, it is up to the government to ensure that it is implemented in the 543 seats of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 elections and all elections across India, if that is the real intent of the government," he wrote.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
