Raj Thackeray, the leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, reaffirmed his support for the construction of a massive refinery in the Konkan region on Sunday.
When the Maha Vikas Aghadi government took office in March 2021, Mr. Thackeray, who had previously opposed the project but later changed his mind, pushed for the development of the mega refinery. He said today, “I was of the opinion that the mega refinery project should not come up in the Konkan region. However, moving such a project outside of Maharashtra would not be in the best interest of the state or the Konkan at this time.
Mr. Thackeray made his statement after the Shinde Fadnavis administration recently announced that the massive refinery project would be built in the Ratnagiri district’s Barsu hamlet. The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray then experienced a split when Mr. Vinayak Raut, the party’s MP for the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat, spoke out against the project’s development while Mr. Rajan Salvi, a party legislator for the Rajapur assembly, spoke out strongly in favour of it.
The Konkan region’s residents have learned that after the announcement of the mega refinery project that took their lands at a throwaway price, according to Mr. Thackeray, who is currently on his tour there. However, when the land deals were made, the locals paid no attention to who the people were who were purchasing their properties or their motivations. What use is it to discuss that matter now that the lands have been acquired? He warned the locals to think twice in the future about selling their lands.
The government of Shinde Fadnavis has benefited greatly from Mr. Thackeray’s support for the mega refinery project, which will be expertly used to highlight growing divisions within the Shiv Sena UBT.
After his meeting with the elected officials on November 22, the industry minister, Mr. Uday Samant, stated that of the 6,200 acres of property, 2,900 acres had a letter of agreement from the landowners. Increased compensation is being sought for land purchase. In order to build the giant refinery there, the government won’t put any pressure on the locals. By installing the pipeline, the water for the projected refinery will be sourced from the Koyana River rather than the Arjuna River, he continued.
According to Mr. Samant, the government has agreed to reject Mr. Salvi’s recommendation not to supply water from the Arjuna River because doing so might result in a water shortage in Rajapur and the surrounding area. “Water will be supplied to the villages the pipeline will pass through. However, the water cess would be paid by the Gram Panchayats. The pipeline will reach Barsu, and the project will need 160 MLD of water,” he continued.
According to Mr. Samant, the crude oil stock will be increased in Natesakhar Village, where work has already started on digging a bore and other locations. 3,000 people will have direct employment, and 75,000 people will have indirect employment. Nearly Rs 2 lakh crore will be invested in the project, according to Mr. Samant.
