West coast refinery will come up in Konkan: Devendra Fadnavis

“The refinery will bring investments worth Rs 3 lakh crore and generate employment for one lakh people,” Fadnavis said. The refinery would pursue modern technology, which would factor in environmental concerns and safeguard the ecology, the CM said, adding that the government would provide compensation and a relief and rehabilitation package to those whose land would be acquired for the project.

Experts from IIT, NEERI and Gokhale Institute have been roped to study the project. After receiving the report, the government will work towards dispelling the apprehensions raised by local residents, Fadnavis said. Thereafter. work on the project would begin. The biggest challenge to the project is BJP’s ally Shiv Sena. Apprehending environmental hazards, Sena had alleged that the refinery is being imposed on villagers against their wishes, and will help rich people from outside Maharashtra who have brought large plots of land in Konkan. The matter had snowballed into a major political issue after Industries Minister Subhash Desai of the Sena announced that the notification for land acquisition stood cancelled. However, Fadnavis had later retorted saying that he had no authority to do so.

“Industries Minister Subash Desai (Sena MLA) has proposed that land acquisition for the project be denotified. But the final decision on land acquisition rests with the CM,” Fadnavis said at the Council. “The government has so far received 5,500 objections along with consent letters for 2,500 acres of land, which shows that there is opposition as well as support to the project,” he added. On Tuesday, the Sena members at the Council did not engage with the CM over the issue. Land for the refinery would be acquired in 17 villages — Nanar, Sagwe, Taral, Karsinghewadi, Vadapalle, Villye, Dattawadi, Padekarwadi, Katradevi, Karvine, Chowke, Upade, Padwe, Sakhar, Gothiware, Girye and Rameshwar. Most of this is a rocky stretch, which is not conducive for agriculture.