Ratnagiri super refinery project once again snowballs into controversy

The much-talked about Ratnagiri super refinery project along the coastal Konkan coast of Maharashtra has once again landed in a controversy with locals taking to the streets during the soil-testing surveys.

The Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL), which is expected to come up at Barsu-Solgaon in Rajapur tehsil of Ratnagiri district was shifted from nearby Nanar site.

In February 2024, a local journalist Shashikant Varishe was mowed by an SUV belonging to real estate dealer Pandharinath Amberkar, who has been arrested by the Ratnagiri police for murder.

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For enabling the necessary surveys, the Ratnagiri Police have imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in Barsu and Solgaon villages.

Local residents have been opposing the project for the past two years.

Shiv Sena (UBT) head and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP Vinayak Raut and local MLA Bhaskar Jadhav to assess the ground situation.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have not

State Industries Minister Uday Samant said that it was at the instance of Thackeray, who then headed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, the project site at Barsu-Solgaon was zeroed in.

However, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the people are protesting against the project and it may lead to a “Jallianwala Bagh-like massacre”. “The Chief Minister has gone to his village in a helicopter…he should take the helicopter to the project site and see the protest,” he added.

The Rs three lakh crore project would be the largest single location refinery complex in the world with a capacity of 60 million tonnes- and it Indian consortium consisting of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) that signed an MoU with Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) for setting up India's largest refinery and petroleum complex.

Accusing the Shiv Sena (UBT) of misleading people, Samant said that as of now the soil-testing surveys are now underway and if the site found fit, the DPR would be undertaken.

“On January 12, 2022, then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting that the state government can make available 1,300 acres of land and another 2,144 acres of land in Natya (area) for the refinery. He suggested the Barsu site for the project," Samant said.

He claimed Thackeray's letter also mentioned that there are no settlements and trees on 90 per cent of this land and therefore, there is no need to displace any tree or house.

Meanwhile, Ratnagiri Collector M. Devender Singh and Superintendent of Police Dhananjay Kulkarni are meeting the locals to prevent them from stopping the protest.

On the other hand, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Ajit Pawar asked the Shinde-Fadnavis government to handle the issue sensitively. Everyone has the right to protest in a democracy. The protesters are being arrested. The government should respect the sentiments of the locals and deal with the issue showing sensitivity,” Pawar said.