With polls in mind, state puts Nanar bauxite project on hold
The Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde wants to take on the Thackeray faction in Konkan politically and thus does not want any controversy or protests, as this could serve up a political opportunity to the Sena UBT
MUMBAI: With assembly elections round the corner, the state government has adopted a policy of avoiding any conflict with the people vis-a-vis controversial projects in the latter’s backyard. Given the history of aggressive protests in the Konkan region, it has decided to put on hold the environmental hearing for the proposed Nanar bauxite mining project in Ratnagiri district.
The decision also has a Sena-versus-Sena angle, as Nanar falls in the Rajapur assembly constituency represented by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Rajan Salvi. The Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde wants to take on the Thackeray faction in Konkan politically and thus does not want any controversy or protests, as this could serve up a political opportunity to the Sena (UBT).
The Maharashtra government allocated the Nanar bauxite mining project spread over 362 acres of land to the Goa-based Sociedade De Fomento Industrial Pvt Ltd following an auction in May 2019. However, the project has been in cold storage for multiple reasons, including the 2019 assembly elections, the Covid-19 pandemic and the protests against the proposed oil refinery in Nanar. The Nanar bauxite mine project has estimated reserves of 10 million tonnes of bauxite, with a production capacity of 0.9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for 14 years.
Nanar’s villagers were shocked after the state administration issued a letter to the Nanar gram panchayat in the last week of July, informing them about a public hearing on the proposed bauxite block. The villagers had earlier fought against the proposed oil refinery project, and after the notice on the bauxite mining public hearing, they began getting together for one more fight.
Santosh Walam, a member of the Nanar gram panchayat, said that people in nearby villages such as Kumbhwade, Sagave and Taral had united against the project and demanded the cancellation of the environmental hearing process. “We went to Uday Samant, the guardian minister of Ratnagiri, and told him about the public’s sentiments,” he said. “After hearing our concerns, Samant ordered the administration to cancel the process.” When asked whether it was cancelled or merely postponed, Walam said they had been told it was cancelled.
Additional Collector of Ratnagiri district Shankar Barge said, “The environmental public hearing for the Nanar Bauxite project has been cancelled. The process is on hold now.” This is not the first instance of the Mahayuti government putting a project on hold. Just a couple of months ago, it deferred the land acquisition process for the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway, as there were protests by farmers in several districts, including Kolhapur and Nanded. Initially, chief minister Eknath Shinde said the government would think about changing the route of the expressway. After ministers and Mahayuti leaders such as Hasan Mushrif and MP Ashok Chavan sounded the alarm bell about people’s unrest, the government, as of now, has decided to put the project on hold.