With Adani Group’s shares registering a free fall in the stock market, the MVA has been mounting pressure on the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government to reconsider if Gautam Adani’s firm should work on the Dharavi redevelopment project.
Mumbai ,UPDATED: Feb 3, 2023 16:56 IST
Adani Group bagged the Dharavi redevelopment project after it emerged as the highest bidder. (File photo: AFP)
By Mustafa Shaikh: With Adani Group’s shares registering a free fall ever since US-based research firm Hindenburg came out with a report accusing the group of account fraud and stock manipulation, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has been mounting pressure on the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government to reconsider if Gautam Adani’s firm should work on the Dharavi redevelopment project.
In 2022, Adani Group bagged the Dharavi redevelopment project after it emerged as the highest bidder, quoting a bid of Rs 5,069 crore, to develop the largest slum in Mumbai, spanning over 259 hectares.
Also Read | Maharashtra Congress asks Shinde govt to take back Dharavi redevelopment project from Adani Group
Congress state general secretary Sachin Sawant took to Twitter and said that all is not well considering the nosediving of Adani Group shares and that it can have a cascading effect on the Indian economy.
“The Maharashtra government must clarify its stand on the Dharavi redevelopment project. Will it allow the fate of lakhs of people to be connected to a company whose fate itself seems to be in jeopardy?” asked Sawant.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) spokesperson Kishore Tiwari alleged the MVA government was toppled so that the Adani Group could be given various big projects.
Also Read | Adani Enterprises down nearly 30%, shares of other group companies plunge too
Tiwari raised questions about the future of projects given to Adani Group such as the Navi Mumbai International Airport and other major projects. The Dharavi redevelopment project aims to rehabilitate 56,000 families by giving them 300 sqft houses.
Authorities in Bangladesh have also sought a revision of an agreement with Adani Power Limited for importing electricity from a thermal power plant in Jharkhand over the “excessive” pricing of coal.
Ever since the Hindenburg report came out, shares of Adani Group companies have suffered a cumulative market loss mounting over $100 billion. This has also not only affected Gautam Adani’s net worth, whose position has now dropped from second to the 16th richest man in the world, but also sparked worries of a larger potential systemic impact on the domestic stock markets.
The issue has also been taken up by other Opposition parties, which are stepping up attacks on the central government and have been demanding a discussion on the Adani stock rout.
Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises has approached the Supreme Court with a PIL, seeking action against Hindenburg Research and compensation for people who have invested in the companies of Adani Group.
