After the public protest in the coastal village of Barsu, the new site for the oil refinery that was earlier proposed at Nanar, the state government consulted the senior most political leader in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar on Wednesday. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called Pawar from his native village, after Industry Minister Uday Samant met the NCP boss in Mumbai as the protest was backing by the opposition, including Shiv Sena (UBT), whose boss Uddhav Thackeray had suggested Barsu as an alternative site, when he was the chief minister.

Pawar told media persons that he had asked the minister to win the confidence of the locals by sorting out issues. He said the administration had set up a meeting with protesters on Thursday. Discussion can resolve any issue, he said, expecting the meetings to be held between the locals, administration and political leadership, to find a way ahead. People in the government said approaching Pawar was part of building a political consensus on the oil refinery, which will be green, and the biggest after one being operated from Jamnagar in Gujarat. The project has already been delayed, firstly because of protests in Nanar and secondly, the time taken in finding a new location.