Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Last Event. Adani Solar Power Plant




Narendra Modi called Sheela Balakrishnan, the adviser to the Chief Minister Jayalalitha.

Narendra Modi said, “Sheelaji, this is Narendra Modi.”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “Yes, Prime Minister. I will put Madame Jayalalitha on line.”

Narendra Modi said, “Sheelaji, I need to talk to you.”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “Yes, Prime Minister, please let me know.”

Narendra Modi asked, “Has Adani Solar Power Plant been inaugurated?”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “No, Prime Minister. It is scheduled for tomorrow. Today we inaugurated the Metro Rail.”

Narendra Modi said, “I don’t care about Metro Rail. I want the Solar Power Plant to be inaugurated right now.”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “No, Prime Minister, it is not possible today. Madame Jayalalitha inaugurated several new projects, such as financial assistance to Common Livelihood Groups, financial assistance to fisherwomen for seaweed cultivation, new buses for state transport corporation, medical text books for medical colleges and metro rail.”

Narendra Modi said, “Enough. Except metro rail, all other projects are not for the state development. Adani Solar Power Plant would develop Tamil Nadu. All welfare projects would destroy not only Tamil Nadu but also the entire India.”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “Sorry, Mr. Prime Minister. Jayalalitha may not agree with your way of development; your way is business development and our way is social development, sir.”

Narendra Modi said, “I want the project to be inaugurated right away. Otherwise I will inaugurate it from Delhi.”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “Madame Jayalalitha has been working all day and started many projects.”

Narendra Modi said, “Let Jayalalitha inaugurate Adani Solar Power Plant and go for a long rest forever and ever.”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “Okay sir, we will inaugurate Adani Solar today itself.”

Narendra Modi said, “Thank you, Sheelaji. I want you to take more responsibility in developing Tamil Nadu. When you come to Delhi, meet me at my office.”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. I am always at your service.”

Later, Chief Minister inaugurated the 648 MW Solar Power Plant of Adani Green Energy (Tamil Nadu) Ltd., at Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram District through Video Conference.

The secretary asked, “Sheela madam, shall we add this Adani event in today’s press release?”

Sheela Balakrishnan said, “No. Let us wait for tomorrow. There may be no event tomorrow. We shall release Adani news in tomorrow press release.”

Here is the news snippet from the newspaper, ‘The Hindu’:

The Adani Group’s 648 MW solar power plant, claimed to be the world’s largest solar plant at a single location, was inaugurated at Sengapadai in Kamuthi taluk in Ramanathapuram district on Wednesday.

Adani Green Energy (Tamil Nadu) Ltd, an Adani Group company, has established the plant at a total outlay of Rs. 4,536 crore in 2,500 acres by installing 2.5 million modules. The group has set up three units each with 72 MW and two units each with 216 MW capacities.

The Group, after signing an agreement with the State government in July last, started purchasing land the very next month. After purchasing more than 2,500 acres, the group launched preliminary work in August 2015.

While there was no official communication from the State government, highly placed sources said that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa inaugurated the plant through video conferencing from the Secretariat. As Metrorail’s airport stretch inauguration happened on Wednesday, an official statement on the Adani plant would be released on Thursday, oficials said.

In a statement, Gautam Adani, chairman of the group, said it was a momentous occasion for Tamil Nadu and the country as a plant of this magnitude reinstated the nation’s ambition of becoming a leading green energy producer in the world.

The massive plant comprises 3.80 lakh foundations, 25 lakh solar modules, 27000 mt of structure, 576 inverters, 154 transformers and 6,000 km length of cables.

The entire 648 MW is now connected with the Kamuthi 400KV substation of TANTRASCO, making it the world’s largest solar power plant at a single location, the release said.

Meanwhile, the officials and media in Ramanathapuram were not aware if the plant was thrown open officially. Media persons visiting the plant to cover the event were denied entry.

That was the news published in The Hindu newspaper. The chaos and confusion around Jayalalitha’s life had started with the inauguration of the Adani solar power plant in Tamil Nadu.

On September 21, 2016, late evening, Jayalalitha left the secretariat for home for good. That was her last moment in public service. On that day, Jayalalitha had been active and had no sign or symptom to die soon. With that health, Jayalalitha would have lived for ten more years with or without wheel chair.

From the book: It Took a Village to Kill Jayalalitha

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