New Delhi: Former Union power minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader R.K. Singh has accused the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar of causing a loss of Rs 62,000 crore to the state exchequer through the award of a thermal power project in Bhagalpur district to Adani Power.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Singh claimed that while he was in charge of the Power Ministry, experts had valued the 2,400 MW Pirpainti Thermal Power Project in Bhagalpur at roughly Rs 24,900 crore, based on a benchmark cost of Rs 10 crore per MW. According to him, the state government awarded the project at a capital cost of Rs 15 crore per MW.

Singh said that at the lower capital cost, electricity would cost about Rs 2.75 per unit, but under the awarded rate, the state had agreed to pay Rs 4.16 per unit. He estimated that this would result in an additional annual expenditure of around Rs 2,500 crore, which over the 25-year contract period would result in a total Rs 62,000 crore in losses approximately to the state exchequer.

The former minister said he had raised the matter with the state administration but received no response.

“If I am wrong, let them correct me. But from my experience as the Union Minister of Power for seven years, I can say with responsibility that this project needs a review,” Singh was quoted as saying by IE.

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In a statement released on Wednesday, Adani Power dismissed Singh’s claims as “entirely unfounded” and said they stemmed from a "misunderstanding" of the project’s history and the transparent tendering process followed by the state government. “It is unfortunate that certain electorally frustrated individuals and political interests are attempting to further a false and baseless narrative,” Adani Power said.

Adani Power also stated that the Bhagalpur thermal project had been stalled since 2012, when the Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd first acquired land to set up a 2,400 MW power plant. Despite multiple efforts over the past decade the project failed to take off, the company said. It added that in 2024, the Bihar government finally chose to move forward through an "open, transparent, competitive-bidding process to finally bring the project to fruition”.

The company further clarified that, as per the tender terms, the land had been leased rather than sold to the successful bidder at a nominal rent, in line with the Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Policy, 2025. Adani Power also emphasised that it had emerged as the lowest bidder, offering a tariff of Rs 6.075 per kWh, which included a fixed charge of Rs 4.165 and a fuel charge of Rs 1.91 per kWh.

Singh explained that he was raising this issue after being alerted by energy experts only recently, claiming he was addressing a subject which was within his expertise. “I am telling all this now because I came to know about it recently. It was red-flagged to me by some energy experts just a couple of days ago,” he was quoted as saying by IE.

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