Ratnagiri: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the ruling coalition in Maharashtra is taking a cautious stance on a controversial refinery project proposed in the Ratnagiri district, opposition to which sparked unrest in the region just a year ago.
The ruling coalition Mahayuti comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Speaking to ThePrint Wednesday, Union Minister and Mahayuti candidate for the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency Narayan Rane said he would discuss the refinery with constituents and decide on a way forward.
“I will sit with the locals of Ratnagiri and discuss how they benefit from it or don’t. I will do as the people want,” Rane said.
Until now, the Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises had been emphatically clear that he was in favour of the refinery project proposed to come up in the Rajapur taluka of the district and that the Narendra Modi-led government would implement it.
The integrated refinery and petrochemicals project called Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd is proposed to be jointly developed by a consortium of Indian oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
While there are a few voices on the ground in favour of the project, there is considerable opposition to it as well, with people fearing that it would alter the landscape of the Ratnagiri district, causing pollution and harming the region’s mango and cashew plantations.
The BJP has always been strongly in favour of the project, while the undivided Shiv Sena opposed it citing sentiments of the local population.
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In June 2022, a rebellion by Eknath Shinde along with a majority of the Shiv Sena’s MLAs caused a vertical split in the party with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena joining hands with the BJP to form a government. The Shinde-led Shiv Sena has backed the BJP on the project.
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The Maharashtra government under Chief Minister Shinde started soil testing at the proposed site last year which triggered protests in Barsu, the site of the refinery. There were even reports of police using tear gas, which was denied by State Industries Minister Uday Samant, the guardian minister of Ratnagiri from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
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Mahayuti’s ‘conscious strategy’
At a campaign rally in Ratnagiri Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke about businesses and industries interested in setting up bases in the Konkan region but did not mention the controversial refinery project even once.
A senior leader from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg belt told ThePrint there was a conscious strategy to stay away from any mention or debate on the proposed refinery in the run-up to the general polls.
“There are strong sentiments on both sides. The Modi government will eventually implement the project, but we don’t want to spark any discussion on it now,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has been vocal in its opposition to the refinery in its campaign in the Ratnagiri Sindhudurg district.
Sitting MP Vinayak Raut, the Sena (UBT) candidate from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency, told ThePrint that the Modi government’s pitch that the refinery would bring jobs would not benefit locals. “Ultimately, the jobs will go to migrants from other states. We need to bring industries that match the skill set of the Konkan population,” said Raut, who is seeking a third term.
Party chief Uddhav Thackeray, too, made a mention of the refinery in his rally in Ratnagiri Sunday.
“I remember how they beat up my mothers and sisters in Barsu. Had the Shiv Sena not interfered, these people would have finished the issue of Barsu… They want to take Konkan in their possession then they might go ahead with the Barsu refinery despite your opposition,” Thackeray said in his campaign speech.
“I am making a promise. The INDIA alliance will come to power and once that happens we will not let any destructive project come to Konkan, whether it is Barsu or Jaitapur,” he added.
The ambitious refinery project was earlier proposed to come up in the Nanar area of Ratnagiri’s Rajapur taluka. The plan, however, faced massive opposition.
During the Thackeray-led government’s tenure, the state industries department identified the current site at Barsu-Dhopeshwar in the Rajapur taluka — separated from Nanar by just a narrow river — claiming the land did not have any cultivation and that locating the project there would cause less damage to the environment.
However, the Shiv Sena (UBT) once again opposed the project after the Shinde government took over and protests erupted at Barsu in May last year.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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