Ulka Mahajan: The Nanar Refinery Will Be Moved, but Larger Questions Remain

By Dilip -
The Land Requisition Act came into force in 2013. Under its provisions, requisition could not be done under the Maharastra Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) rules, yet the government started illegal requisitioning from May 2017. The required permission came into law in April 2018. This act was quietly passed, without any announcement. Meanwhile, the government indulged in mendacious activities for one whole year. 

Changes in the law have removed national projects from its purview. For such projects, the permission of 70% of the farmers and local residents is not required anymore; social and environmental impact clearances are no longer required. Investors, both Indian and foreign, have reaped the benefits of these changes. The BJP professes national pride, yet encourages foreign investors at the cost of the local population in the name of ease of doing business.

 The Fadnavis government has struck off coastal regulations and opened the floodgates of 'development' to various industries. This will turn the pristine rivers of the Konkan region into cesspools. On the one hand, it propagates the Clean Ganga mission and the Narmada project. This double standard is visible elsewhere. On international forums, our ministers formulate plans to reduce global warming. But in our own country, they crush those plans. 

 When in the opposition, they shout from the rooftops about farmers’ rights and land takeover. Quick as they come into power, forget farmers and make laws in favour of financial conglomerates. One last question. The Shiva Sena helped move the Nanar refinery. But now, the project is going to be established in the Raigad area, to which the party has given its nod.

The Nanar refinery in Ratnagiri district was to be the biggest for crude oil. An “ultra” project  around 16,000 acres of land were to be acquired – it inevitably faced opposition. The project was called a “green refinery” - of course in name only. It was clear that the BJP was trying to hoodwink the people. To see how this became possible, we need to go back to 2007. That year, under the aegis of Petrochemical Investment Region, the government created a corridor from Gujarat to West Bengal. Coastal regulations were removed and the refinery project was the first step after the deregulation.
In 2017, local farmers began receiving notices under the Land Acquisition Act. There was stiff opposition. The Refinery Sangharsh Samiti was formed and under its banner, protests strengthened. It found support among many environmentalists, as well as locals who had migrated to Mumbai for employment. This came to the attention of various political parties, including the Shiv Sena, who joined the fray. Eventually, in February this year, the project was moved from Nanar.

Larger questions: But larger questions still remain. Multi-crore projects that involve land acquisition are like a windfall for political leaders, irrespective of their party lineage. Take, for example, the Mumbai-Goa national highway and the Delhi-Mumbai business corridor near Mandgao. For these projects, land acquisition has been completed. For political agents, cash has been flowing and even payments by cheque have not stopped illegal diversion of funds.

People from the Konkan region have repeatedly been subjected to the manoeuverings of the government and the private sector. I have seen the destruction of rivers, bays and coastal areas. Those relying on these resources for livelihood have been marginalised. In addition, they received neither jobs, rehabilitation packages nor a fair value for their land.

Over the years, people have become wiser to the government’s backtracking and lies. After the Dabhol Power Company drowned in the Enron fiasco, people have realised that the government doesn’t take into view their concerns before making decisions. If the government doesn’t have the moral courage to face the people, how can we believe that it has the people’s welfare at heart? Now, under the name of “infrastructure”, there is an influx of expressways, bullet trains and economic corridors that are ostensibly proposed for the welfare of the people. But they line the pockets of entrepreneurs... read more:
https://thewire.in/rights/nanar-refinery-maharashtra-displacement-foreign-investors

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