Maharashtra cannot afford to let go of Nanar refinery project: MNS Chief Raj Thackeray writes to CM Uddhav Thackeray

In a politically significant development, MNS President Raj Thackeray has shot off a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asking him to ensure that the super-refinery project in the coastal Konkan belt does not go out of the state.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was earlier opposed to the project and had come out in support of locals who were against it.

“Sometime ago, I read that a major international project was passed onto Bengaluru and the Maharashtra state government was trying its best to get it back. This piece of news was rather heartbreaking. The other states are in a cut throat game of snatching projects out of Maharashtra. In such trying times, Maharashtra should not let go off the ‘Ratnagiri Rajapur Refinery’ project. This is a massive project of nearly three lakh crore. We surely cannot afford to lose this project to another state (sic),” Raj wrote to his estranged cousin CM Uddhav who is also the president of the Shiv Sena.

Raj also sent similar letters to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis.

The project is commonly referred to as the Nanar project.

The Shiv Sena has been opposing the Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL) project which was put on hold in 2019. The scrapping of the project was one of the conditions put forward by the Shiv Sena for a tie-up with the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls. The then government, led by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, had later proposed to shift the project to Raigad where the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) is planning an industrial township.

Speaking about the Konkan region, Raj, in his letter, said, “Whilst nature has bestowed so much natural beauty to the Konkan region, this region also stands out as a cultural seat and most of our outstanding personalities that are the true treasures of our country are from this region. In most of my speeches, I have gone on record to state, that if one maps out the geographic boundaries of the Konkan coastline, then this region has gifted us 7 Bharat Ratnas, out of these 4 are from Dapoli itself.”

According to him, although the region was gifted, Konkani youths find themselves lost and in a dismal state of mind. For jobs and their daily livelihood, they have to turn towards Mumbai and Pune. In actuality, tourism can change this entire scenario. However, this thought process was not carried through methodically. There was a ray of hope that a big project would come and turn things around, unfortunately it did not materialize, he added.

"Presently, there is one opportunity knocking at the door. The Coronavirus backdrop has altered our perspective and the real context of situations. There is a serious contest on to get investments into states and the country,” Raj said.

“The present situation is such that Maharashtra cannot afford to let go off any new project or a project that can bring in foreign investments. If we let this happen, we will lose our status of being a pioneer state in the industrial growth of our country. Today, the entire state of affairs have undergone a huge change after coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns. So many of our youth stand unemployed. Our system and governance is facing a tremendous financial strain. Now is the time to safeguard our state, we need to change our perspective and look at the industrial sector and projects in a new light (sic),” he added.