Villagers and activists opposing the West Coast Refinery Project in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra have said that the State government is not applying the appropriate law for acquiring 15,000 acres for the project.

The project is for a 60 million tonnes per annum integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex. It is being planned at Babulwadi village in the coastal Ratnagiri district. IOCL, HPCL, and BPCL are jointly executing the project. IOCL is the lead project manager.

Land acquisition

Convener of local NGO, Konkan Vinashkari Prakalp Virodhi Samiti (KVPVS), Satyajit Chavan addressing the media on Monday said the State government is using the MIDC Act, instead of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, to acquire land.

The MIDC Act is more draconian and does not provide any voice to the people whose land is being acquired. Under the Land Acquisition of 2013, the process of acquiring land is more lengthy. Consultative processes such as detail public hearings have to be carried out under Land Acquisition of 2013 before the land changes hand, he said.

Chavan said the local residents continue to oppose the project because of their fears of air and marine pollution and destruction of cultivable land and orchards. The locals fear that there would be effluents not only from the refinery complex but also from the 1,500 MW thermal coal power plant that would be required for powering the complex.

Also addressing the media, local resident of Padve village near Balulwadi, Ashok Walam alleged that ever since the refinery project was announced in Ratnagiri, land speculators and middlemen working for powerful groups have been trying to buy the land from the locals in the hope that when the State government finally announces the land price along with ex-gratia payment, they could make windfall profits.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW