Mumbai: After staunchly opposing the setting up of an oil refinery at Nanar village in Maharastra’s Konkan region, the Shiv Sena government seems to have softened its stand on the mega project. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government is looking at options to relocate the controversial Nanar refinery project to another location in Konkan itself.
On Monday, state Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that the project can be constructed at an alternative site in the Konkan region, but after a nod from stakeholders. Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai told ThePrint Tuesday that two villages in Ratnagiri — different from Nanar — have been earmarked for the project.
The project has been a bone of contention between the Shiv Sena and its former ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for almost seven years. It was first proposed in 2015, when the BJP was in power in Maharashtra in alliance with the Sena. However, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had opposed its ally on the matter, citing opposition from local residents and organisations.
The Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemical Limited (RRPCL) project was originally supposed to come up on around 16,000 acres of land, spread across 17 villages in the adjoining districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in the Konkan region. The main oil refinery was to be set up in Nanar village, which falls in the Ratnagiri district.
Last year, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) identified a site for the refinery in Rajapur taluka of Ratnagiri, but again, this was met with local opposition. Then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said they will shift the project out of the Konkan area altogether if local residents are opposed to it.
Speaking at an event organised by Marathi daily Loksatta Monday, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Education Dharmendra Pradhan said: “In collaboration with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, it was planned that a 6-million-tonne oil refinery would be built on the Konkan coast. Unfortunately, it was opposed. This wasted precious time. But now there are indications that the Maharashtra government is changing its mind. The plan is to reduce the size of the project and build it in Konkan.”
The Union minister added that the Nanar oil refinery project had the potential to “contribute millions of crores of rupees and employment to Maharashtra’s economy”.
“Though the project has been stalled for the last few years due to opposition, now that the Maharashtra government seems to be changing its mind, there is hope for revival of the Nanar project,” he added.
Meanwhile, state Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, who was in Sindhudurg Monday, spoke in support of the project — at a different location in the Konkan region, and with the consent of local residents.
“The issue of shifting the project is there. The project should be developed on (an alternative) site where the local people are not opposed to it. It should be done by taking the people along and after holding discussions with them. The next steps will be taken keeping in mind how the sons of the soil will get justice.”
Aaditya also insisted that the project work will begin only after speaking with stakeholders, and if they agree.
ThePrint sought a comment on the matter from state Industries Minister Subhash Desai, who said that Dhopeshwar and Barsu villages in Ratnagiri’s Rajapur taluka have been earmarked for the project. A taluka is an administrative unit within a district. Nanar village is also located in Rajapur taluka.
“Villagers are supporting the project here. They are positive. Our party’s stand is that where villagers are supportive, we have no issues going ahead with the project,” he added.
Desai further said that the Centre will be sending a team, which will be accompanied by MIDC officials, to conduct an inspection of the area. This site will be comparatively smaller than the original one proposed at Nanar area, he added.
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A tussle dating back to 2015
The Nanar project has been a subject of disagreement between the Sena and the BJP ever since the two were allies in the state government between 2014 and 2019.
It was proposed by the Centre and the then Devendra Fadnavis-led state government in 2015 as a joint venture between foreign oil giants Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, as well as three Indian public sector oil firms — Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
However, the 60 million metric tonnes-per annum refinery project worth Rs 3 lakh crore was stalled due to strong opposition from local organisations and residents of Nanar. As a result, the Sena, which counts the Konkan region as a bastion, took a stand against the BJP.
Local residents opposed the project citing loss of livelihood through traditional sources. The Konkan belt is rich in fishing, besides mango, jackfruit and cashew farming. The residents feared that several hectares of land would be destroyed, and that would lead to environmental degradation. The Sena supported them, thus forcing the Fadnavis government to decide to shelve the project at Nanar in March 2019, and explore alternative sites.
That year, the state assembly elections were held, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government — led by the Shiv Sena and comprising the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress as allies — was formed. The MVA government decided to look at alternative sites for the project in Raigad district. But due to technical reasons, the refinery could not be built there.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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