Adani Tarali Project Cost Cut by 99%: Rs 5,675 Crore Becomes Rs 56.75 Crore, Centre Orders Probe

The Adani Tarali project cost is the biggest business controversy in India today. Adani Green Energy's 1,500 MW Tarali Pumped Storage Project in Satara district, Maharashtra, was valued at Rs 5,675 crore in a Union Environment Ministry letter in February 2025. In September 2026, the company filed an affidavit putting the same project's cost at just Rs 56.75 crore — a cut of 99 per cent. Because the wildlife payment is a share of the declared cost, the amount due also shrank, from Rs 227 crore to about Rs 2.27 crore. After a complaint from a wildlife warden, the Centre has ordered the Maharashtra forest department to investigate on priority.

Adani Tarali Project Cost: From Rs 5,675 Crore to Rs 56.75 Crore

The Tarali project is a proposed 1,500 MW pumped storage plant built around the Tarali dam reservoir in Patan taluka, Satara district, covering about 150.74 hectares across the villages of Nivade, Tondoshi, Kalambe and Jalu. The site sits in the eco-sensitive zone of the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve — and that location is exactly why the declared cost matters so much.

The numbers tell the story. On February 11, 2025, a Union Environment Ministry letter recommending prior environmental clearance recorded the cost at Rs 5,675 crore. On February 23, 2026, the Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife imposed 15 conditions, including a payment of four per cent of the project cost towards wildlife conservation — Rs 227 crore at the original valuation. Then, on September 8, 2026, Adani Green Energy filed a notarised affidavit seeking to revise the cost to Rs 56.75 crore, reportedly calling the earlier figure an 'analogous estimation'. On October 12, 2026, the forest department accepted the revision.

Why the 99% Cut Matters: Wildlife Dues Drop From Rs 227 Crore to Rs 2.27 Crore

The four per cent wildlife contribution is the heart of this controversy. At the original valuation, Adani Green Energy would have paid Rs 227 crore for the sanctuary area's conservation and protection. At the revised valuation, the same four per cent works out to only about Rs 2.27 crore — nearly Rs 225 crore less. The company has already deposited Rs 56.75 lakh, one per cent of the revised cost, into the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve account. The remaining three per cent, about Rs 1.70 crore, is payable after approval from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

One point needs stating clearly. The reported change concerns the cost declared in official documents. It does not by itself establish that actual construction spending has fallen by 99 per cent. What it does establish is that the figure used to calculate the wildlife payment has been cut to one-hundredth of the figure in the Environment Ministry's 2025 letter — and that is what the probe must answer: how was the revised figure assessed, and was the forest department right to accept it?

How the Controversy Came Out: Complaint, Then a Centre Probe

The revision might have passed unnoticed if Satara's Honorary Wildlife Warden, Rohan Bhate, had not raised the alarm. On October 30, 2026, Bhate complained through the Prime Minister's grievance portal and Maharashtra's Aaple Sarkar portal, questioning the revised cost. The forest department began its own inquiry, and on November 5 the Deputy Director of the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary was asked to examine it. A day later, on November 6, the Union Environment Ministry directed the Maharashtra forest department to investigate on priority. The Indian Express investigation that brought the story to public attention was published on November 13, 2026.

• Original cost: Rs 5,675 crore (Environment Ministry letter, February 11, 2025).
• Revised cost: Rs 56.75 crore (affidavit September 8, 2026; accepted October 12, 2026).
• Wildlife payment: four per cent of project cost — Rs 227 crore becomes about Rs 2.27 crore.
• Paid so far: Rs 56.75 lakh into the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve account.
• Complaint: October 30, 2026, by Honorary Wildlife Warden Rohan Bhate.
• Probe: priority investigation ordered November 6, 2026.
• Status: still awaiting the National Board for Wildlife.

Congress Calls It a 'Scandal of Gigantic Proportions', Demands JPC Probe

The political reaction came fast. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday, November 13, called the reported revision a 'scandal of gigantic proportions' and renewed the party's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the Adani Group. Ramesh questioned how a project sanctioned at Rs 5,675 crore could now be stated in an affidavit to cost Rs 56.75 crore. The Congress has demanded a JPC probe since March 2023. According to reports, there was no immediate reaction from the Adani Group, the Maharashtra government or the Centre.

What Happens Next for the Tarali Project

Three things will decide how this story ends. First, the priority investigation: the forest department must explain how the revised Rs 56.75 crore figure was assessed and accepted. Second, the National Board for Wildlife, which still has to consider the project — its decision will determine whether the remaining wildlife payment is ever made, and at which valuation. Third, the political pressure: with the Congress demanding a parliamentary probe, the controversy is unlikely to stay in the forest department's files. Until the investigation reports back, the central question stands — why a project valued at Rs 5,675 crore in 2025 is now declared to cost one-hundredth of that amount.

1. Watch for the forest department's report to the Environment Ministry — the first official answer.
2. Follow the National Board for Wildlife's consideration of the project.
3. Check for a formal response from the Adani Group, the state or the Centre.
4. Look for movement on the JPC demand in Parliament.
5. Keep an eye on the teraplayer.in blog for the next update.

Adani Tarali Project Cost: Frequently Asked Questions

The Adani Tarali project cost row is, at its core, a simple question with a very large price tag: can the declared cost of a 1,500 MW power project fall by 99 per cent and take nearly Rs 225 crore of wildlife protection money with it? The Centre has ordered a priority probe, the forest department is investigating, and the National Board for Wildlife is yet to decide. The answers will matter far beyond Satara — they will set the precedent for how every project in an eco-sensitive zone is valued.