MRPL incurs Rs. 600 crore loss owing to dispute with Patrao

MRPL incurs Rs. 600 crore loss owing to dispute with Patrao

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, July 21:  Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) stated in a release that its land dispute with Mr. Gregory Patrao has blocked its expansion programme, resulting in a total loss of Rs. 600 crore for the company.

 

 

The release stated that Gregory Patrao is unwilling to part with his ancestral land of 14 acres in spite of losing his case in the Karnataka High Court, adding that the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) acquired this land on April 28 for the third phase of the development of MRPL. But the land has not yet been handed over to MRPL because of Patrao’s protests.

 

The non-availability of the Patrao land could severely affect the completion of the project and impact its overall financial position. According to MRPL’s statement, the non-availability of the Patrao land has cost the company nearly Rs. 600 crore so far.

The phase three development project of MRPL requires 700 acres; and so far, the company has acquired 282 acres from farmers. Out of this, around 268 acres of land has been handed over by KIADB to MRPL, which has completed around 46 percent of this project.

 

The phase three development project is expected to increase MRPL’s refining capacity by an extra 3 million tonnes per annum with a total cost of Rs. 15,000 crore and is expected to complete by Oct 2011.