Mega oil refinery faces opposition from Narayan Rane

MUMBAI: The West Coast Refinery being set up by a consortium of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district is facing rough weather from former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane who is mobilising villagers who are affected by the project.

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, January 20

The West Coast Refinery being set up by a consortium of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district is facing rough weather from former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane who is mobilising villagers who are affected by the project.

According to Rane, who has set up the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh (MSP) after being denied entry into the BJP following his resignation from the Congress, the Maharashtra government is forcibly acquiring farm land for the project.

“Farmers who do not want to give up their land are being beaten up. Activists who are working for the villagers are facing threats to their lives,” Rane told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

Rane, who left the Congress after being promised a berth in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s cabinet, also blamed the Shiv Sena for arm-twisting the villagers. Rane alleged that one of the activists, Ashok Walam, and his wife Ashwini and others were called to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s residence, Matoshri, and threatened.

“The local police are filing fake cases against villagers at the behest of Shiv Sena’s agents who are purchasing farm land,” Rane alleged.

He added that while Uddhav Thackeray publicly opposed the project, his ministers in the government were actively working for it.

Known for his considerable strength in the Konkan region, Rane alleged that residents of at least 16 villages in Ratnagiri’s Nanar area had refused the compensation package announced by the government.

Opponents of the refinery say it would affect the cultivation of Devgad Alphonso mangoes unique to the region.
The government is acquiring 14,000 acres for this refinery which is being constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 lakh crores.

Rane’s taking up the cause of the project-affected villagers comes after Fadnavis indicated that he was in no hurry to induct him into the cabinet. While Fadnavis is seeking Rane’s support to undercut the Shiv Sena in the Konkan region, he faces opposition from his own senior ministers from the BJP.