Sri Lanka’s govt. to reconsider Adani wind power project, AG tells court

The Attorney General (AG) has informed the Supreme Court that the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to reconsider the matters related to the wind power project in Wedithalathivu, Mannar by India’s Adani Green Energy.

The AG communicated this to the court when the Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed seeking an order to invalidate the Cabinet approval granted for India’s Adani Green Energy for a wind power project in Wedithalathivu, Mannar was taken up this morning (14).

Accordingly, Deputy Solicitor General Avanthi Perera, who appeared on behalf of the AG, informed the court that the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to reconsider the facts related to the matter on November 07, 2024, and make a decision regarding the further continuation of the project.

Furthermore, the Deputy Solicitor General stated before the court that the current interim Cabinet has reached this decision and requested for an extended date to communicate the decision which will be finalized by the new Cabinet of Ministers to be appointed after the upcoming General Election.

She also informed that until then, the current stance regarding the relevant project will be maintained in the same manner.

The petitioning party, who agreed to the facts presented by the Deputy Solicitor General, requested the bench of judges for permission to revise the relevant petitions as the respondents of the case have been changed with the formation of the new government.

The Supreme Court, which granted permission to amend the petitions, also ordered that any observation of the government related to the relevant activities be filed before January 31, 2025.

Later, the petitions were ordered to be recalled for consideration of facts on March 18 and 19, 2025.

On August 02, the Supreme Court fixed for consideration the five Fundamental Rights petitions filed by five parties including the Centre for Environmental Justice against the Adani’s wind power project, arguing that the proposed wind farm poses significant threats to ecological biodiversity and the safety of migratory birds.

The respondents named in the petitions were ordered by the court to file limited objections, if any, before August 20 while any counter objections related to those were ordered to be filed before September 13.

Later in September, the National People’s Power (NPP) had vowed to cancel the Adani Group’s wind power project in Sri Lanka if it gets elected in the presidential election, according to a news report on PTI.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka’s new government later said it will review the deal with the Adani Group, throwing a fresh hurdle for the Indian conglomerate as it seeks to expand abroad.

The previous administration’s approval of electricity prices for Adani Green Energy Ltd.’s projects “was a problem,” Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet ministers. The new government would give the deal a fresh look after parliamentary elections are held Nov. 14, he said.

The move to reassess the Adani Green deal follows through on a campaign pledge by newly elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who had called the project a threat to Sri Lanka’s energy sovereignty and vowed to cancel it.

Herath also said no policy decisions on major projects would be taken before the parliamentary poll. 

Any challenge to the deal would be a blow to Gautam Adani’s ambitions, as the group led by Asia’s second-richest person looks to develop multiple infrastructure projects in the island nation. Projects in the works include expansion of the Colombo container-ship port backed by the US Development Finance Corp.