Adani Group has been in trouble ever since the publication of the Hindenburg Research report. Their shares have practically collapsed. The amount of their property is decreasing every day. At the same time, the group’s chairman Gautam Adani’s property has also been affected. This time they got a big blow from Uttar Pradesh government. The Uttar Pradesh government canceled the tender worth thousands of crores of Adani Group.
It has been learned that Madhyanal Vidyut Vidyut Nigam Limited (MVVNL), a subsidiary of the Uttar Pradesh government, has canceled the tender for the supply of smart meters to the Adani Group. As a result, Adani Group is going to lose about 5 thousand 400 crore rupees. According to the sources, Adani Group had fetched the lowest price from Uttar Pradesh government. However, their tender was rejected.
No specific reason for canceling the tender has been shown by the government. Discoms in Uttar Pradesh including Madhya Pradesh, Dakshinachal, Eastern and Western regions submitted tenders for supply of 25 million smart meters. The total price of all the tenders was about 25 thousand crores. Apart from Adani Group, GMR, L&T and Intellismart Indra were also involved in this project.
The price of a smart meter was said to be Tk 10,000 by Adani Group. This was the lowest price. As per the fixed billing guidelines of Rural Electrification Corporation, Rs.6 thousand per meter was charged. So many people think that Adani’s price was too high. However, Adani Group has been informed by MVNL that their tender has been canceled due to unavoidable reasons.
This time, the company is going to start the process of calling tenders again. It may be noted that none of the four private companies that have submitted tenders manufacture smart meters. They would start production of smart meters only after the contract was matured. The tenders were already opposed by the Uttar Pradesh Power Consumer Forum. It was said at the time that smart meters were being overpriced. However, the news of Adani Group’s tender cancellation in the wake of the Hindenburg report has created a lot of speculation in business circles.