As the Maharashtra Government clears the way for work on the stalled Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (RRPCL) project at a different location, locals on Wednesday held a rally against the oil refinery at Rajapur tehsil in the coastal Ratnagiri district. The RRPCL project is touted as the world’s largest single location refinery complex.
“We came to know that the Maharashtra Chief Minister has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving his approval for the new location at Barsu-Solgaon instead of the originally planned Nanar. Our opposition to the project is on a bigger issues concerning the environment and the possible damage this project would do to the Konkan coastline. We will not let the project move forward,” Satyajit Chavan of the Konkan Vinashkari Prakalp Virodhi Samiti said.
The Samiti, an umbrella body of several environmental groups working in the Konkan region along with village-level groups, organised the protest march on Wednesday.
