GUWAHATI: Seven Oil PSUs operating in Assam viz. ONGC, IOC, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL, Oil India Limited (OIL) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, have together contributed an amount of Rs.15 crores to Asam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in aid of the people devastated by the recent spate of floods in the State.
A cheque of Rs. 15 crores was handed over to the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal by the representatives of the oil companies led by Director (HR), ONGC, DD Misra at Janata Bhawan today.
Appreciating the gesture of the oil PSUs for extending their helping hand to the flood affected people of Assam, Chief Minister Sonowal called upon them to contribute meaningfully to the growth of Assam by determining their role in tandem with North-East Hydrocarbon Vision Plan of the Petroleum Ministry of Government of India.
Sonowal said that the people of Assam have showered their love and affection for the oil PSUs during last 50 years and Assam being the birth place of the country’s oil industry, the PSUs also have an obligation to join government’s hands in scripting a new era of development in the state. He advised the PSU representatives to take up integrated work involving all the oil PSUs instead of implementing projects in a piece-meal manner.
The Chief Minister asked the PSU representatives to spend the CSR fund more for generating employment and implementing projects which are visible. He also advised them to rope in the expertise of professional institutions for skill development of the youth of the state.
The Chief Minister also called upon the PSUs to be an active partner in state government’s efforts to make Guwahati as India’s gateway to the south-east Asian countries. Keeping in mind the broad vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Act East Policy, Sonowal informed that several activities have been outlined for the state and sought the PSUs support in improving connectivity between Assam and the ASEAN nations.
The Chief Minister also underlined Assam government’s move to create State Capital Region expanding the periphery of the capital city, construction of World Trade Centre providing space for companies and business houses to operate from Guwahati with the ASEAN nations and dredging of River Brahmaputra to utilize its navigation facility for promoting trade & commerce.