Nanar oil refinery may turn slippery slope for BJP-Sena

While CM says yes to Sena’s demand to shift Konkan project, BJP leader asks if locals want it too

Even after Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis promised Shiv Sena that the proposed oil refinery in the Konkan region would be shifted, former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and leader from the region, Pramod Jathar, has opposed the scrapping of the project in Nanar. Jathar demanded the government announce a compensation package to know if people oppose the project.

Among its demands for the BJP-Sena alliance finalised on Monday, the Sena had sought scrapping the proposed oil refinery , which is spread across Rajapur and Devgad talukas, about 400km from Mumbai, as it is opposed by the locals. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

Among its demands for the BJP-Sena alliance finalised on Monday, the Sena had sought scrapping the proposed oil refinery , which is spread across Rajapur and Devgad talukas, about 400km from Mumbai, as it is opposed by the locals. Now, as voices within the BJP call for the project to be in Konkan, it could become a flashpoint between the saffron parties.

The parliamentary constituency, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, where the project is proposed, is held by the Sena. Apart from that, a chunk of Sena supporters come from the Konkan region. The BJP, on the other hand, has a limited presence there.

State-run oil companies have tied up with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for the project, which entails an investment of ₹3 lakh crore and was conceived as the world’s largest.

Jathar questioned the state government for not announcing a compensation package like it did for Fadnavis’s pet project — the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Corridor, the Mumbai-Goa highway and Jaitapur nuclear power plant project.

Jathar said, “The state government should announce a compensation package to know if locals are in favour of the project. If people oppose it, I am ready to accept that, but unemployed youth should not suffer for your political advantage.”

The BJP leader added that he will meet Fadnavis along with a delegation of local landowners who are in favour of the project on February 25.

“I will meet Uddhav soon and appeal to him to visit the area and know the people’s wishes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sena leader and state industries minister Subhash Desai said that his department has already initiated the process to de-notify the land for acquisition.