NEW DELHI: The inclusion of an advisor from Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) in an Environment Ministry panel created a political uproar on Tuesday, with the opposition slamming perceived ‘conflict of interest’.

In September, Janardan Choudhary, a key advisor to AGEL, was named as one of the seven non-institutional members in the Expert Appraisal Committee for hydroelectricity and river valley projects.

The AGEL’s 1,500 megawatt Tarali pumping storage project in Maharashtra came up for consideration during the reconstituted EAC’s first meeting on October 17-18, revealed minutes of the meeting.

Choudhary claimed that he attended the meeting but refrained from participating in the session on the Tarali project. He added that he was an advisor and not on the company’s payroll. Choudhary had a 36-year tenure with NHPC and retired as director (technical) in March 2020. He assumed the role of advisor to AGEL in April 2022.

Opposition parties criticised the Narendra Modi government, questioning who appointed Choudhury to the EAC and why. “Adani Pradhan Sevak appointed Adani employee Janardhan Choudhury as a member of EAC. This committee has to approve 6 Adani projects (10,300 MW),” alleged the Kerala unit of the Congress.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said: “Please don’t even mention conflict of interest, etc. that applies for others not where friends with benefits are concerned.”