State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said on Monday that a high-level committee of experts has been set up to draw a roadmap for settlement of land acquisition issues facing the proposed $44 billion Ratnagiri refinery project in Maharashtra.
In a statement, IOC said the panel will be headed by former Maharashtra Chief Secretary D.M. Sukthankar and will submit its recommendations within the next six months to the project promoters and the Maharashtra government for further action.
"A high-level independent committee of experts has been constituted to recommend a roadmap for the settlement of issues related to the acquisition of land in a fair manner and satisfactory resettlement and rehabilitation of the project affected people, for the proposed integrated refinery and petrochemicals project in Konkan region of Maharashtra," it said.
Other members of the committee include former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar, former Chair Professor University of Mumbai Abhay Pethe, President Marathi Vidnyan Parishad J.B. Joshi and former Vice-Chancellor Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth S.B. Kadrekar.
The refinery, to be set up at Nanar in cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is being opposed by the Shiv Sena along with a section of villagers.
"The recommendations made by the Committee are expected to be fully and faithfully implemented by the promoters and the concerned authorities with a view to ensuring the environmental protection, ecological preservation and holistic development of Konkan region and also the proper resettlement, in a sensitive and humane manner, of the local people likely to be displaced by the project," IOC said.
The Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL) has been created as a joint venture in collaboration with an Indian consortium consisting of state-run oil marketing companies Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum.
RRPCL will have Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi's national oil company ADNOC as overseas strategic partners. The project will be set up as a 50:50 joint partnership between the consortium from India, Aramco and ADNOC.
The mega refinery will be capable of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day by 2022 or 60 million tonne per annum, he added. It will also provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemicals complex, which will be capable of producing around 18 million tonnes per annum of petrochemical products.
--IANS
bc/mr
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