Like Enron, hope Nanar is not revived later says Chavan

Mumbai, Mar 04: Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan said that scrapping of Nanar mega-refinery project was a political deal between the Shiv Sena and BJP.

Talking to reporters in Nanded, Chavan said he hoped Nanar would not go the way of Enron power project at Dabhol.

The Sena and BJP had promised to dump the Enron project in the Arabian sea, but when they came to power (in 1995) the project was revived, said Chavan, a former chief minister.

He had visited Nanar and found that locals were opposed to the project, he said.

The Maharashtra government on March 2 officially made it clear that a Rs 3 lakh crore oil refinery project will not come up at Nanar in the coastal Ratnagiri district.

As the Sena was opposed to Nanar refinery citing local opposition, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, while announcing a tie-up between the BJP and Sena for coming polls, had announced last month that the project would be shifted.

Reacting to Chavan's statement, Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said her party will not allow Nanar project to become either Enron or Adarsh', in an apparent reference to the Adarsh housing scam in which Chavan had faced allegations of corruption.