The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has pledged to cancel the Adani Group’s wind power project in Sri Lanka if it wins the upcoming presidential election. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the JVP leader and presidential candidate from the broader National People’s Power (NPP) alliance, announced this on Monday during a political discussion program.
When asked whether the project posed a threat to the country’s energy sector sovereignty, Dissanayake confirmed, stating, “Yes. We will definitely cancel it as it threatens our energy sovereignty.”
The JVP, known for its past anti-India stance, particularly its armed rebellion from 1987 to 1990 against India’s intervention in Sri Lanka’s civil war through the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, is currently leading in unofficial polls ahead of the September 21 election. The party previously condemned the Indo-Lanka Accord, considering it a betrayal, and was involved in violent actions against those who supported the agreement signed by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardena.
The Adani Group has faced legal challenges in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court after receiving approval to develop a wind power project in the northeastern regions of Mannar and Pooneryn. The group planned to invest over USD 440 million in a 20-year agreement to generate 484 megawatts of wind energy. However, petitioners have raised concerns over environmental risks and a lack of transparency in the bidding process. They also argue that the agreed tariff of USD 0.0826 per kWh would result in financial losses for Sri Lanka and have called for a reduction to USD 0.005 per kWh.
