2023-06-16 13:45:21
- Nikhil Inamdar
- BBC, Mumbai
Manasi Pauli is among the protesters rejecting the refinery in Ratnagiri
“We do not want this chemical refinery. We will not allow dirty oil coming from an Arab country to destroy our pristine environment.”
Manasi Puli Sayeda is among thousands protesting once morest plans to use a vast plateau of mineral-rich laterite soil, surrounded by fishermen’s villages, mango groves and ancient rocks, to build the world’s largest petrochemical refinery in what is known as the ecologically fragile Konkan belt in western India.
In late April, angry protests erupted in the Ratnagiri district of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, when authorities began examining soil in preparation for the mega project to be implemented by a consortium of major state-run Indian oil companies and global giants Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known for short. ADNOC).
Thousands of villagers, led by women, braved the sweltering summer heat, lying on the roads to prevent officials from entering the site, while many had their heads shaved and went on hunger strike to show their opposition.
When talks with the villagers were unsuccessful, the police imposed a curfew on their movements and used batons and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. Protesters and activists once morest the project were arrested, some of whom spent several days in prison.
There is general discontent across the region regarding what villagers claim are “undemocratic and coercive” tactics imposed by the authorities to force them to accept a huge industrial project they have vehemently opposed for nearly a decade.
Opposition mounts
Across the villages we traveled to, there was general concern regarding the refinery.
“They say the plateau is barren land, but it is the source of water for our springs, and it is a place we go to look for berries and grow vegetables,” says Polly.
Fisherman Imtiaz Bhatkar, speaking on his fishing boat, says he is worried regarding losing his daily livelihood because of the refinery project.
“We will not be allowed to fish within a radius of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) because the crude oil tankers will be anchored in the sea.”
“About 30,000 to 40,000 locals and outsiders depend only on fishing in this village. What are they going to do?” Bhatkar added.
Fisherman Imtiaz Bhatkar worried regarding losing his daily livelihood because of the refinery project
Mango growers in the area, famous for their ‘Alphonso’ mangoes, told us that the slightest air pollution and deforestation would cause severe damage to their crops; Due to the sensitivity of this species of mango to wind and weather fluctuations.
A project steeped in politics
Successive state governments in Maharashtra have been similar in their stance on the refinery; Its men supported the project when they were in power and challenged the project when they became among the ranks of the opposition.
Initially planned for a $40bn (£31.6bn) project, the project, which has a capacity of 60m tonnes per annum, had to be cut by a third because of the long delay in its launch.
In 2015, the project was first announced to be implemented in Nannar village, which is a few kilometers away from the current site in Barsu village in Ratnagiri. The plans were scrapped following they met strong opposition from the people of Nannar, its village council and environmental groups.
Last year, the project was revived by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and Parsow proposed a new site for it.
But now that he is out of power, he has changed his mind and has come to support the local population.
The demonstrators brave the sweltering summer heat and lie on the roads to prevent the police from entering the site
The current government, made up of a splinter faction of Thackeray’s party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, says resistance to the project is politically motivated.
“This is a green, unpolluted refinery,” minister Uday Samant told the BBC. “As industries minister, my job is to clear up the misunderstandings of those misled by outside forces.”
He said that, contrary to widespread claims, there would be no damage to the stone inscriptions or rock carvings in the area, which is now on UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites.
Samant also alleged that the government had already acquired 3,000 acres of the 5,000 acres of land on which the refinery would be built.
But what the BBC saw on the ground contradicted some of what it confirmed.
For example, soil testing for the project was carried out just a few meters from the 170 stone reliefs on the plateau. The authorities rejected objection letters from at least six local village councils, saying that they do not own the land on which the refinery will be built.
But locals say they have been duped into selling the land at bargain prices to investors, some of whom are politicians, police officials and civil servants, without informing them that the sale was made for a refinery project.
Thousands of villagers protested, led by women, once morest the refinery project
“The government allows the fate of this region to be decided by 200 investors, not by its residents,” said Satyajit Chavan, an anti-oil refining activist who spent six nights in jail over social media posts urging locals to join the protests.
environment versus economy
The divisions around the refinery manifested themselves through several tracks, geographically, ideologically, and socially in this pastoral tropical setting.
Far from the rural interior, in the town of Rajapur, Suraj Pednekar, a small business owner, has insisted that the project will greatly develop Ratnagiri, an industrially underdeveloped district in the country’s richest district.
The government estimates that the gross domestic product of Maharashtra will increase by 8.5 percent.
The petroglyphs or stone carvings in the area are included in the UNESCO Tentative World Heritage List
“Entire generations of young men and women have to go to Mumbai and Pune every year to earn a living,” Pednekar said.
“The villages are being depopulated because there are no jobs. If we get the refinery here and it employs 50,000, the population will rise, which will help local businesses. Why should we resist that?”
This view is echoed by many residents of megacities where the project will not directly affect traditional livelihoods. But the villagers spoiled this point of view.
“These so-called jobs will go to educated graduates, not local fishermen,” says Bhatkar. “We don’t need such jobs.”
As for Polly, she believes that even if some jobs are available to the local population, they will be of a lower nature, such as cleaning or guarding tasks.
Across the state, there appears to be growing support for these residents’ cause.
At a recent meeting in Pune, local writers, poets, activists and resistance groups pledged to draw huge crowds to put pressure on the authorities to cancel the project.
“Our campaign will focus on urging people not to vote for pro-refinery politicians or political parties,” Schavan told the BBC.
Over the years, local resistance groups have forced many giants to withdraw from Konkan. As with attempts by Enron in the 1990s, to a French attempt in the early 2000s to build a now-defunct nuclear power plant, to several major industrial proposals by Indian conglomerates such as the Reliance Group and Tata Group.
It remains for the future to tell us whether the proposed refinery will be destined to be like other previous projects or not. But group following group of local villagers, they told us they would fight till their last breath to eradicate the project.
However, this region seems to have once once more become a dividing line between India’s economic ambitions and the environmental sensitivities of its population.
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