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A land row has stalled Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd’s (MRPL) Rs 12,160-crore expansion and the project may miss the January 2012 deadline for completion.
Persons displaced by Mangalore Special Economic Zone Ltd (MSEZL) have blocked roads demanding better compensation, which has led to stalling of work at MRPL expansion projected even though the company is not part of the SEZ, company sources said.
MRPL is expanding refining capacity from 11.82 million tonnes per annum to 15 million tonnes by January 2012 but around 16,000—17,000 labourers are not been allowed to enter project site because of the road blockage.
“Work on the expansion project had come to a standstill since last week. The situation is grave. If the blockade is not lifted and agitation is not controlled we will miss the deadline of January 2012 for commissioning the expanded capacity,” a source said.
“We have not been able to move the cargo (machines and equipment) to the site from port since last 14 days, many of 16,000—17,000 workers have started leaving the site,” he said.
MRPL had planned to complete installation of majority of equipment before monsoon.
MRPL is not part of the SEZ project but since it has acquired 252 acres contiguous to the proposed 2,300 acres SEZ, it has been hit by the ongoing agitation.
MSEZL is a special purpose vehicle floated by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IF&LS) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). IF&LS holds 50 per cent stake in the SPV while ONGC has 26 per cent. The remaining stake is with the Karnataka government body.
MRPL is not part of the SEZ and had acquired 252 acres of land for the expansion project through Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). All displaced persons were given compensation as approved by the Karnataka government and there is no resentment among those displaced by MRPL project.
However, MSEZL displaced persons are not happy with the compensation given to them and have resorted to road blockage, disrupting work at MRPL expansion.
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