Sena ministers demand Nanar project land be de-notified

MUMBAI: A day after a heated exchange between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Nanar project, the Sena mellowed down on Tuesday.

The Sena ministers submitted a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadanvis demanding the withdrawal of the land acquisition notification for the project.

The Sena on Monday declared the ‘cancellation’ of land acquisition for the Indo-Saudi project. However, the chief minister did not make the desired promise to the Shiv Sena and said that the decision will be taken in the interest of the local people. The chief minister refused to withdraw the notification.

Industries minister and Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai held a meeting of all Shiv Sena ministers on Tuesday on the Nanar refinery controversy. The Shiv Sena prepared the letter demanding the de-notification of landin theproject area.

The tension between the alliance partners was at its peak after Mr Desai announced the withdrawal of the land acquisition notification. However, Mr Fadnavis remained firm and said that a single minister cannot take the decision.

In the reply, Mr Desai said that as the industries minister he has right to denotify the land. “I can de-notify the land as per the Maharashtra Industrial Development Act, section 1(3). If I have a right to notify then I also have a right to de-notify the land. We have given a letter in this regard to the chief minister today and the process of de-notification will begin,” Desai said.

Mr Desai refused to comment on the issue of how a single minister could overrule the decision taken by a high-power committee. The decision on notifying 6,000 hectares of land was taken by the high power committee. The chief minister clearly said on Monday that a single minister has no power to change the decision.

After meeting with the Sena delegation, the chief minister said that a decision will be taken in the interest of the locals. “The Sena ministers have given me the letter to de-notify the land. The sentiments of the locals will be considered and a decision will be taken in the interest of the people,” he told the media.

Mr Desai on Monday made the announcement of cancelling the notification during a public meeting that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray addressed in Sagav village of Rajapur near Nanar.

The announcement was Sena’s attempt to disassociate itself from an unpopular decision on the Nanar project and it soon became evident when Mr Fadnavis came out with a clarification that the government has taken no decision to cancel the land acquisition.