Last week, he told The Indian Express he would stand by the commitment and end the row before New Year starts.

“I have sought reports from the affected parties and the company,” he said. When queried on a timeframe he said, “Let the reports come. I will decide accordingly.”

The issue was raised by BJP members who wanted all Dow Chemical projects to be scrapped. With Gujarat keen on the project, some analysts feel the BJP may have made a political move.

“The company has been denied permission in Europe and the US for manufacturing poisonous chemicals. It is surprising our country welcomes it,” said BJP MLA Devendra Phadnavis who had raised the issue in the House.

It has been almost a year since villagers of Shinde and Vasuli rose against the Dow India’s Rs 400-crore proposed global R&D centre having around 500 researchers on 40 hectares of grazing land at Shinde village in Chakan, some 30 km from Pune.

The standoff continued throughout the year, which saw a host of non-government organisations and later the politically powerful Warkaris supporting the villagers, fearing pollution of river Indrayani.

In January, villagers blocked the road to the construction site. In July, when the company attempted reconstruction with police protection, Warkaris demolished the construction at the site.

In October, Warkaris threatened to a stage demonstration at the venue of the Commonwealth Youth Games. The then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had to issue a notice to the company to halt construction work. He also proposed a panel to address the problem. A panel appointed under retired justice R J Sinkar in November was asked to submit a report by December 19. It sought an extension on December 17, but it was denied. It will have to hear complaints of the public regarding the project and conduct site inspections. But the deadline is long over.