The Adani Group is planning to build a 3,200 (4 × 800) MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant at Chhatai in Kotma block of Anuppur district, Madhya Pradesh. This project is also known as the Welspun Energy, Anuppur Thermal Power Plant. Originally, the project was owned by the Welspun Group, which received environmental clearance (EC) in November 2012 for a 1,320 MW (2 × 660 MW) plant. The previous Congress-led UPA government had restricted the project’s capacity to the approved 1,320 MW and did not allow expansion beyond that. However, Welspun failed to establish the plant, and the project was later acquired by the Adani Group. After the takeover, the validity of the original EC was extended to November 2023.
In 2024, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) noted that Anuppur Thermal Energy (MP) Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Adani Power Ltd, applied for fresh Terms of Reference (ToR) for a 3,200 MW ultra-supercritical coal plant. This changed the configuration from 2 × 660 MW to 4 × 800 MW units. The original EC had expired in 2023, and the EAC recommended granting the fresh ToR, which were formally approved in late October 2024.
The estimated total project cost is Rs 36,600 crore. The total capital cost earmarked for environmental pollution control measures is Rs 5,993 crore. The plant will consume about 13.3 million tons of coal annually, sourced mainly from Adani’s coal projects in the Singrauli coalfields and through e-auctions.
Regarding land acquisition, when the project was under Welspun, about 360 hectares (including 218.53 hectares of agricultural land) were acquired, displacing two families and affecting an additional 246 individuals who lost land. The 2024 ToR documents indicate the total land requirement as 371 hectares (312 hectares private land and 59 hectares government land), all already in possession of the project proponent. This raises questions about whether Welspun had acquired more land from farmers than initially reported. The project affects at least three villages—Chhatai, Majhtoliya, and Umarda—and has caused hardship for local communities who lost land.
The project has also raised environmental concerns, particularly regarding its proximity to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and other wildlife sanctuaries. Conservationists fear the plant could disrupt tiger movement corridors and exacerbate human-wildlife conflicts. An unnamed group has requested the Ministry to conduct a cumulative environmental impact assessment considering other coal mines and plants in the area.
In summary, the Adani Group’s Anuppur Thermal Power Plant is a large-scale coal-fired project evolving from an earlier Welspun proposal, with expanded capacity and updated environmental clearances. It involves significant land acquisition and environmental challenges, notably related to wildlife conservation and community displacement.
Community Concerns and Opposition to the Adani Anuppur Power Project
For this project, agricultural land was acquired from 246 farmers across the villages of Chhatai, Majhtoliya, Umarda, Majhauli, and Tarsili under the Madhya Pradesh Rehabilitation Policy 2002, while land was purchased from 2 farmers. According to this policy, if the acquired land is not utilized by the company within 10 years, it automatically reverts to the government; if the government does not require the land, it must be returned to the original landowners. However, more than 14 years after acquisition, those who lost their land have neither received employment nor regained possession of their land. In June 2024, the affected farmers submitted a memorandum to the state government highlighting their hardships, including loss of land and unemployment due to the project’s failure to progress. They stated that Welspun had promised employment, free education, healthcare, unemployment allowances, and other benefits, none of which were delivered.
A boundary wall constructed by Welspun now restricts access, with Adani’s guards preventing farmers from entering the land. Despite no construction activity, farmers have attempted to cultivate crops on their land but have been stopped by Welspun previously and currently by Adani. Since 2011, the affected farmers have repeatedly petitioned local authorities and the company. In 2024, with support from a local MLA, they again sowed crops, but residents of Umarda village reported that Adani took possession of the land without informing the affected communities. The farmers fear collusion between the local administration and the company to transfer their acquired land to Adani under Welspun’s name, intensifying their concerns along with those related to wildlife impacts.
Regarding environmental concerns, the 2024 Terms of Reference (ToR) state there are no national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, or tiger/elephant reserves within 10 km of the project site. The project proponent cited a study claiming no wildlife corridor exists within 15 km. However, the project’s proximity to several protected areas—including Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Kanha National Park, and multiple wildlife sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh—raises fears of disruption to tiger movement corridors in one of India’s most genetically rich tiger habitats.
A report by Adani Watch in December 2024 noted that the public hearing for the project had yet to be held. However, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had already received representations warning that the plant could threaten protected wildlife areas. These representations accused the Adani Group of misleading the Ministry by concealing information about wildlife corridors connecting these reserves. The Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee considered these concerns when granting the ToR for the environmental impact study.
An anonymous group urged the Ministry to require a cumulative environmental impact assessment, given the presence of other coal mines and plants nearby. The project site lies within wildlife corridors connecting Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Kanha National Park, Phen Wildlife Sanctuary, Sanjay Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, and Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary, Sanjay National Park, and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh. Located just 700 meters from the Madhya Pradesh–Chhattisgarh border, the site is part of the Central Indian Plains and Eastern Ghats landscape. A corridor connecting Kanha National Park to adjacent habitats passes near the project.
These circumstances raise serious questions about whether Adani Anuppur Thermal Energy (Madhya Pradesh) Private Limited is attempting to establish the power plant by misleading the government and the public, given the unresolved community grievances and potential threats to critical tiger habitats.
Centre for Financial Accountability is now on Telegram and WhatsApp. Click here to join our Telegram channel and click here to join our WhatsApp channeland stay tuned to the latest updates and insights on the economy and finance.