Guwahati: Police on Saturday baton-charged farmers protesting against auction of 67 oilfields across the country, including 12 blocks in Assam, at the venue of a roadshow in the city where Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was present.
Police detained the nearly 100 protesters and took them to nearby police station. The farmers, who were protesting under the aegis of RTI activist Akhil Gogoi led Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), were demanding exclusion of the 12 blocks in Assam and withdrawal of FDI in oil sector.
Pradhan was holding a one-day roadshow at a five-star hotel here to attract bidders for the 67 oilfields across the country. Gogoi-led protesters reached the hotel and started shouting slogans inside the compound just in front of the meeting hall, where scores of government officials and potential bidders were present, police said.
When police and organizers asked the agitators to vacate the premise, they refused to do so. Police the lathicharged them and forcefully evicted from the spot. When contacted, Guwahati Police Commissioner Anil Kumar Jha told PTI: “They were protesting without any permission by violating the rules. We requested them first to vacate the place, but they didn’t listen.” The Centre will put 12 small oilfields of the state under auction along with 55 other such discoveries across the country. “All these 67 oilfields were discovered during the last 8-40 years and are with Oil India and ONGC. As these are small oilfields, these were not so financially viable. Now we are targeting to garner Rs 30,000 crore from the auctioning of these 67 blocks,” Pradhan had said on Friday. The bidding for all the oilfields will start on July 15.
Later, when asked about the demands of the protesters, the Petroleum Minister said, “These issues are not serious at all. FDI in oil sector started many years ago. We are concerned for youths of Assam and jobs for them.” The government’s thrust is to generate investment in Assam so that infrastructure across sectors can be developed in the future, he said.
After concluding the roadshow and meeting some potential bidders, Pradhan said, “The 67 oilfields have resources to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore that are not monetised yet. For the 12 oilfields, it stands at Rs 17,000 crore”. He said the 67 oilfields have 86 MMT reserves, including 21 MMT in 12 oilfields in Assam. “To develop these fields, we will need Rs 4,000 crore. Now after handing over the oilfields to the winner, this amount will be invested in Assam,” Pradhan claimed.
The bidding process will start from July 15 and it will be over by the end of December, while leasing of the fields to winners will begin from January 2017, he added.
Talking about reducing dependence in imported crude, the Union minister said the government is working on to reduce the same by 10 per cent by 2022 on the back of increase in domestic production, conservation of energy and using alternate fuel. (PTI)
