A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president met anti-refinery activists from Barsu-Solgaon villages in Ratnagiri district, state Industry Minister Uday Samant on Monday met Sharad Pawar and assured that the government won't go ahead with the proposed refinery without clearing the doubts and misconceptions of the villagers opposing the mega project. Samant said that he conveyed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's message to Pawar that the government won't forcibly go ahead with the project till misconceptions of the protesters are resolved and that the government is open for dialogue with the leaders of protesting villagers. Opposition parties in Maha have asked state government to stop the land survey process for proposed oil refinery at Barsu-Solgaon. 2 top leaders of the protest movement, Satyajit Chavan and Mahesh Chavan, were arrested by the Ratnagiri police Sunday and sent to judicial custody. pic.twitter.com/T3HsC1Mlt4 — The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) April 25, 2023 He said that the demand of anti-refinery activists to withdraw preventive notices and cases against them can be done once the dialogue starts. “Farmers have doubts about the refinery. I have assured Pawar on behalf of the state government that the project won't be taken forward without clearing their doubts. We are willing to have a dialogue with villagers and protesters. The government will explain then the benefits of the project," Samant said. Meanwhile, Shinde in an interview to a Marathi TV channel said that the protest against the refinery will end once they get compensation for their land. "we dont want refinery at all. We may not face issues right now, but what about our next generation? What if they suffer from any disease?Where they will go after this(refinery)? "the jailed Barsu-Solgaon anti refinery woman protester told @ie_mumbai after being released. pic.twitter.com/NBeunsghgk — Vallabh Ozarkar (@OzarkarVallabh) April 30, 2023 "The land is barren. When the villagers will get compensation for the land, they will realise the kind of compensation they are getting. In case of Samriddhi Mahamarg, there was similar opposition but it got over as they saw the amount of compensation they were getting for the land," Shinde said. The protest against the refinery intensified on Friday after villagers tried to enter the survey site forcibly that led to clashes between villagers and police leading to mild lathicharge and use of teargas by the police to disperse the crowd, injuring several villagers. Over 200 villagers who entered the site, where soil testing is on, were arrested. So far the police have arrested nearly 350 protesting villagers at Barsu-Solgaon. Meanwhile, the district administration has started awareness drives at every village of Rajapur taluka opposing the project to clear their doubts. Villagers feel the project will adversely impact the environment and the fragile biodiversity of the coastal Konkan region that would also hit their livelihood which is mostly dependent on cultivation of cashew, Alphonso mango, coconut and fishing.
