Barsu Refinery Row: 'Half of the villagers support the project,' says Industries Minister Uday Samant

Almost half the villagers of Barsu have given consent letters in support of the refinery, Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant has said.

50% land owners at Barsu have already given consent letters: Samant

Samant, who addressed the people of Barsu over Facebook after Thackeray’s tour of the region, said, “About 50% land owners at Barsu have already given consent letters to the government while supporting the refinery. The project requires a total of 5,000 acres of land. Out of 5,000, the consent letters for 2,500 have already been received,” the minister said.

He also claimed that not many local villagers were present during meetings with Uddhav Thackeray.

While giving the ground report in terms of the work being done at Barsu, the minister said, “Soil testing is going on peacefully. In all, 91 bores were to be dug for the soil testing. Out of 91, the work on 51 has already been completed.”

Fail to understand purpose of Thackeray's visit: Samant

“I fail to understand the purpose of Uddhav Thackeray’s visit to the area,” the minister said, adding that he will have to explain why he wrote the letter to the Centre without consulting the villagers and local people if he is insisting that they should explain the whole project now.

During his tour of the region on Saturday, Thackeray also visited the petroglyphs in the area and expressed the need to preserve them.

Referring to Thackeray’s demand, the minister said, “We have ensured that the land where petroglyphs are there won’t be acquired in order to follow the national guidelines in this regard.”

Samant also raised questions over Thackeray’s claims that the fertile region is being destroyed by bringing in the project.

Samant slams Thackeray for 'hypocrisy'

“How can he describe the region as fertile which he himself, in the letter written to the Centre, has described as a barren land and less number of people would need to be displaced if the project comes to this region,” the minister said.

While revealing more details of the letter, the minister also said that Thackeray should have discussed with the people that he had written to the Centre that world’s largest refinery coming to this region shall change the fate of the region forever for good.

While quoting the numbers from the local administrations’ reports, the minister also said that the local people are not involved in the agitation in large numbers and that the outsiders are driving the agitation.