Mumbai: One of Asia’s biggest petrochemical and refinery complex at Nanar in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra’s Konkan region has come under a cloud after Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Monday dared the BJP to shift the project from the eco-sensitive Konkan belt to Gujarat.
Industries Minister Subhash Desai of Shiv Sena on Monday announced that the notification for land acquisition for the oil refinery stands cancelled.
The project has been a bone of contention between Shiv Sena and the BJP which leads the coalition government in the state. In this Sena-dominated region, the party has been backing the farmers and villagers opposed to the project as they believe it would destroy the environment as well as their livelihood — f arming and fishing.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray dared the BJP to shift the proposed complex to Gujarat and said at a rally in Nanar: “They are trying to scare us by saying the project will go to Gujarat. You want to take it to Gujarat? Do it. We will not allow you to destroy Konkan in the name of development. Konkan will not be allowed to become a Gujarat.”
He also asked why Vidarbha in north east Maharashtra was not considered for the project instead of the picturesque coastal Konkan region. Thackeray also alleged that the ‘land mafia’ had been buying land following the notification. “Modi, Jain, Shah and other such names have purchased land here,” he alleged. Some villagers who have sold their land said that buyers had told them they wanted to purchase land for setting up a farm. They said they did not know that a project was coming up here.
A Congress delegation that toured the Nanar area said it opposed the project because it would affect the homes of 30,000 people. Thousands of Alphonso mango trees, 700,000 cashew trees as well as thousands of trees in the nearby forest, 65 temples and eight mosques will also be affected by the project.
However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis denied that the state government had taken any decision to cancel the notification. “It is the opinion of Subhash Desai and not the government. The government will decide what is in the best interests of the people of Maharashtra and the Konkan region.
In December 2015, Union Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had announced that the refinery would be set up by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum in a joint venture with Saudi Aramco.