Land at Barsu village in Ratnagiri for refinery project suggested by Uddhav when he was Maha CM: minister

Uday Samant. File Pic

Maharashtra Industries Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant on Tuesday said the Barsu village site for a proposed refinery project in Ratnagiri district was suggested by then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray who had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Samant's statement comes amid protests by local people in the coastal district against the soil survey work for the multi-billion dollar refinery project.

He alleged that "misunderstandings" are purposely spread against the project for deriving political mileage and slammed the "politics of double standards", an apparent jibe at Uddhav and his son Aaditya Thackeray.

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 told a press conference in Nashik.

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.

"The letter also claimed the refinery project will not cause any environmental damage. The project will strengthen the economic condition of the state and the state GDP will increase by 8.5 per cent. It will also reduce the import duty on the petrochemical products and therefore the project should be established at Barsu, Samant said quoting the letter.

When asked about protests, the industries minister said farmers would not be pressured (for land). He claimed out of 5,000 acres of land needed for the refinery project, people owning 2,900 acres of land have already given their consent letters.

He said the refinery project is being opposed now only because Eknath Shinde is the chief minister of the state.

I don't know why this letter was written and with whom discussions were held. Had Uddhav Thackeray been the CM, the project would have progressed till now," Samant said.

Earlier in the day, Opposition leader Ajit Pawar demanded that protests by locals against the refinery project be handled sensitively and that the state government stop the survey work till a peaceful solution is found.

Samant said the protests are an attempt to create misunderstanding.

He said NCP chief Sharad Pawar called him over the phone to take updates about the ground situation in Barsu village. "I am not going to meet Pawar," the minister said replying to a query.

"We are holding discussions with farmers and understanding their problems. Even today, I discussed the issue with CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

We will clear all misunderstandings of farmers," Samant said.

He said the scale of the agitation has come down after a dialogue was held with farmers in Barsu.

Samant alleged a "politics of double standards" was played as some people who had targeted the Shinde-Fadnavis government over Maharashtra losing some key projects to other states.

In a press conference held at Shiv Sena Bhavan (in Mumbai) two months ago, a hue and cry was made about projects going out of Maharashtra. But now when we have brought projects into the state after hard efforts, they are ready to take the credit".

He said pressers were held on Maharashtra losing Vedanta Foxconn, Airbus, and BDP projects.

Also Read: Ajit Pawar calls for sensitive handling of protests against Ratnagiri project

"Now this (refinery) project is coming in Maharashtra. What's the reason for opposing it? On one hand, they blame us for projects going out of the state. On the one hand, they claim they are not against development, but on the other hand, they oppose the upcoming projects. This is a farce and double standard politics," Samant alleged.

He demanded clarification on the letter written by Uddhav.

"Of the 100 bores in Barsu, 65 people have given their consent for bores. Of the total 5,000-acre land needed for the project, people owning 2,900 acres of land have given their consent letters. How can we call it opposition to the project? " he said.

Speaking about the survey at Barsu village which has triggered protests, Samant said the exercise is aimed to find if the area is feasible for the refinery project or not.

"Based on the findings of the survey, it will be seen whether the project can be set up or not at the site. A DPR (Detailed Project Report) will be prepared," he added.

Sawant said a white paper will be issued in the next 7-8 days about the issue of Vedanta Foxconn, Airbus and BDP projects.

Opposition parties had alleged that these projects went out of Maharashtra owing to the failure of the Shinde-led government.

Samant said auto major Mahindra & Mahindra is making a Rs 6,500 crore expansion in Nashik.

"No project is going anywhere from Nashik. In all, new projects worth Rs 3,300 crore including Reliance Pharma (Rs 2,100 crore) and Pirmal (Rs 1,200 crore) are also coming to Nashik, the minister said.

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