We must bring back oil refinery to Nanar: CM

His statement was met with strong applause and slogans that Nanar refinery should be reconsidered. Fadnavis’s remark is being seen as a retort to Thackeray’s jibe and indicates a hardening of stance by the chief minister.

A day after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said that Aarey car shed project would meet the same fate as Nanar, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said he would do a rethink to bring the multi-crore oil refinery project back to the area.

Fadnavis’s remark is being seen as a retort to Thackeray’s jibe and indicates a hardening of stance by the chief minister. The oil refinery was scrapped from Nanar in Ratnagiri district, following protests backed by the Shiv Sena. (HT FILE)

Fadnavis was addressing party workers and people who had gathered in Rajapur taluka of Ratnagiri district during his Mahajanadesh Yatra. “I had repeatedly said and cried hoarse that refinery should happen only in Nanar. It’s a green refinery and it will give jobs to one lakh youth of Konkan and transform the region. But because of allegations and protests, the project had to be stopped. After looking at your enthusiasm, I think we must discuss to bring this project back here, once again,” said the chief minister. “While I am not making any official announcement now, I will call you and hear your side again.”

His statement was met with strong applause and slogans that Nanar refinery should be reconsidered. Fadnavis’s remark is being seen as a retort to Thackeray’s jibe and indicates a hardening of stance by the chief minister. The oil refinery was scrapped from Nanar in Ratnagiri district, following protests backed by the Shiv Sena. The Sena had made this one of the conditions for cementing the alliance with BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

However, local BJP leaders in Konkan have been supporting the project.

Both, Sena and BJP have been posturing in a bid to increase their bargaining chips before a seat-sharing agreement can be sealed. An aide of CM said, “This doesn’t mean alliance won’t happen.” On Sunday he said that while he understood Aaditya Thackeray’s view on tree felling, the latter must also understand what is going on in the minds of some handful of people who are opposing it.

Meanwhile, the third phase of Fadnavis’s Mahajanadesh Yatra will conclude in Nashik on Thursday. PM Modi will preside over the conclusion, his second visit to the state this month.