When Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for the first time, then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the ceremony from Sri Lanka. This invitation sparked dissatisfaction among opposition political party leaders due to strained relations between Mahinda’s government and the previous ruling Congress government of India. The tensions stemmed from Mahinda’s government failing to implement the 13-plus amendment and delaying the implementation of the Sampur power plant, which had been agreed upon with India in 2005. Additionally, Indo-Sri Lankan relations were strained as the Congress government supported a resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Upon accepting Modi’s invitation and attending the swearing-in ceremony, Mahinda returned to Sri Lanka and ordered the acceleration of the Sampur power plant project implementation. The agreement for the plant, signed in 2013 in the presence of India’s Foreign Minister, aimed for completion in 2018. Mahinda’s directive to expedite the project likely responded to India’s concerns about the delays.
After Mahinda lost the 2015 presidential election, Maithripala Sirisena became President, and Ranil Wickremesinghe became Prime Minister. Environmentalists already had filed filed a case in the Supreme Court against the power plant project. The then Additional Solicitor General, now Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, assured the Court that the government did not intend to proceed with the project. Based on this assurance, environmentalists withdrew their petitions. The Secretary of the Ministry of Power at the time stated that President Maithripala had explained the situation to Prime Minister Modi during a visit to India, leading to a mutual agreement to halt the power plant project. Maithripala later announced that obtaining Modi’s consent was a significant achievement.
The implementation of the Sampur power plant was stalled. The next major agreement between Sri Lanka and India was Adani’s wind power project. Talks for Adani’s project began during President Gotabaya’s tenure, but consent was obtained during Ranil’s government. After attending Modi’s third swearing-in ceremony, Ranil visited Mannar and met with the Bishop, who, along with other environmentalists, opposed Adani’s project and had filed a complaint in court. It is reported that during Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, Ranil met with the Indian Foreign Minister to discuss projects including Adani’s project. Additionally, the Indian Foreign Minister is expected to visit Sri Lanka to examine the project’s progress.
Similarly, Mahinda also ordered the acceleration of the Sampur project after returning from Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. A few months later, he ran for re-election and lost. Ranil has only a few months left in his tenure. It might be prudent for India to wait and discuss projects agreed upon with Ranil with the new President who will be elected soon. Otherwise, the Adani project could face the same fate as the Sampur project. The real loser from the stoppage of the Sampur project was Sri Lanka, not India. If the Sampur plant had been completed in 2018, the power cuts experienced in 2022 could have been avoided.
