Sri Lanka SC asks govt & Adani group to respond over wind power project

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has given Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the Cabinet and the Adani Group three weeks to file preliminary objections to a petition filed by an environmental group against the wind power project undertaken by the Indian conglomerate in the country.

Sri Lanka's Adani Group renewable project entails two wind energy projects; a 250 MW in the northeastern district of Mannar and a 234 MW project at Pooneryn in the north.

The total investment was to be $750 million.

On Tuesday, a three-member bench of the apex court gave the prime minister, the Cabinet and the Adani Group three weeks to file preliminary objections to the rights petition against the project.

An environmental rights group had claimed in court that a decision by the Cabinet to treat the Adani wind power project as a Sri Lanka-India government-to-government venture was illegal and that it would cause immense damage to the migratory bird population causing environmental hazards.

They had also challenged the action by Minister of Environment Pavithra Wanniarachchi to exclude the Mannar district's Viddathalathivu area from being a forest reserve, an action taken to facilitate the project.

The Sri Lanka government said the Adani group investment was vital to achieving its target of 70 per cent of its power needs to renewable energy sources by 2030.

In May, the government approved a 20-year power purchase agreement with Adani Green Energy to develop 484-megawatt wind power stations in the northeast region.