Maharashtra state has put an halt on the major and deal for the Saudi Aramco refinery after having a strong opposition from farmers in that region.The USD44 billion refinery was seen as a game changer for both parties - offering India steady fuel supplies and meeting Saudi Arabia’s need to secure regular buyers for its oil.
But thousands of farmers are refusing to surrender land, fearing it could damage a region famed for its Alphonso mangoes, vast cashew plantations and fishing hamlets that boast bountiful catches of seafood. he Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPL), which is running the project, says the 1.2 million barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, and an integrated petrochemical site with a capacity of 18 million tonnes per year, will help create direct and indirect employment for up to 150,000 people, with jobs that pay better than agriculture or fishing.
RRPL, a joint venture between Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum , has said suggestions the refinery would damage the environment were baseless.Issues related to the land for the refinery will be sorted out by the state government soon given the importance of the project, RRPL Chief Executive officer B. Ashok told Reuters.Land acquisition has always been a contentious issue in rural India, where a majority of the population depends on farming for their livelihood.
