New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday (March 12) saw an uproar with the opposition staging a walkout over the clearance granted to an energy park in Gujarat’s Khavda, with solar panels and wind turbines within a kilometre of the India-Pakistan border along the Rann of Kutch.
Opposition members said that the Union minister for new and renewable energy, Pralhad Joshi, had not provided a satisfactory answer to whether national security defence protocols were relaxed for the project.
Last month, The Guardian reported that the Union government had relaxed critical and long-standing national security defence protocols allowing billionaire businessman Gautam Adani to go ahead with the project.
During the question hour on Wednesday, Congress MP Manish Tewari asked a supplementary question while Joshi was giving a response to a question on incentives for setting up solar power projects.
Tiwari said national security and energy security have to go hand in hand.
“A big renewable energy facility is being set up in Khavda, which is going to be up to one km of the India-Pakistan border,” said Tiwari.
“National security protocol states that up to 10kms of the border no major infrastructure project can be set up. I want to ask the minister, this project that is being set up in Khavda, have national security protocols been eased for it? This mixed energy project which includes wind and solar energy-how many incentives have been given by the government of India?”
In response Joshi said that while Tiwari’s question is not related, he will still answer it.
“We want renewable energy to be generated in the country. Even though the question is unrelated, I still want to state that all approvals and licences to any proposal are granted after obtaining clearances from the Centre, the state and relevant agencies.”
While Speaker Om Birla called on the next question to be asked, opposition benches erupted in protest and could be heard chanting “Adani, Adani” and asking “Who is the government relaxing norms for?” and “Modi sarkar jawab do” (Modi government must answer).
As opposition members rose to their feet, shouting “Modi government shame shame”, Union minister for parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju said that question hour cannot be disrupted.
While Birla continued presiding over the question hour, opposition members staged a walkout.
“We wanted to know from the government that we know from the media that this project is of Adani Power. Is Adani above national security? Was special treatment given to Adani? The concerns raised by the armed forces, have they been ignored to give profits to Adani? There was no satisfactory answer from the government,” said Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi outside parliament.
“The party that asks for votes over national security, they have neglected national security for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close friend. We condemn it and demand a clear answer from the government. When the minister gave an unsatisfactory response because he had no answer, INDIA alliance parties went to the well and demanded a comprehensive answer. When no response came, we walked out.”
