OIL implements various welfare projects under Corporate Social Responsibility

OIL has been spending more than the mandatory sanctioned amount as fixed in a fincial year to cater to the welfare and economic needs of the people.

From our Staff Correspondent

Dibrugarh, Nov 4:  Oil India Limited (OIL) has always viewed social welfare as a way of conveying OIL’s goodwill and responsibility towards humanity and the tion and for fulfilling its duty has embarked upon massive programmes of educatiol, health, sports, cultural and infrastructural developments works with an attempt to invest technology with a human face.

OIL has even taken up several need-based sustaible social activities and visible projects impacting the larger society. OIL under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects, has initiated a number of welfare projects for health , education and agriculture which include Rupantar for Socio-economic Development for Rural people,  Sparsh for Health Care Intervention,  Arogyo for reduction of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Materl Mortality Rate (MMR), combating HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and sustaible livelihood under which rural development society was instituted by Oil India Limited, which is one of the foremost and extensive social welfare projects designed to percolate down to the beneficiaries of the grassroots level of India, particularly of the rural areas in the operatiol areas of OIL. The Agriculture Project’s primary objective is to introduce modern methods of cultivation to generate large-scale production and thus provide an opportunity to the unemployment youths of the society to adopt agriculture as a means of earning livelihood and attaining economic empowerment, Handicraft Training and Production Centre (HTPC), OIL’s Handicraft Training and Production Centre, located at Duliajan,   has been imparting nine-month stipendiary training in weaving, cutting and tailoring, embroidery and knitting to young girls/women from OIL operatiol areas.

One of the ambitious project of OIL is Rupantar (meaning transformation) which is a joint venture between OIL and State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) Assam. The implementing agency, SIRD in the project aspires to overcome unemployment in the areas, mainly among the youth, by means of taking up entrepreneurship development programmes (EDP), exploring self-employment opportunities in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The project, strengthening the rural economy and supporting the beneficiaries, focuses on assisting Self-Help Groups for development of agro-based industries, diversification in handloom products with special focus on Eri and Muga, poultry farming, pig breeding, duck rearing, fishery, sericulture and organic farming along with a computer centre, thereby helping the unemployed youths to find alterte employment. Moreover, the marketing outlet Aastha at Duliajan has been satisfactorily providing the requisite support to the marketing needs of the SHGs of OIL’s operatiol areas.

Oil India Limited’s commitment to socio-economic development in its areas of operation encompasses education as one of the most important areas indispensable for the overall development of an individual and well-being of the society at large. As a measure, two separate categories of scholarships, mely, the OIL Merit Scholarship Scheme and the OIL Awards (a special initiative) was instituted in the year 1997 and 2006 respectively to encourage meritorious students from OIL operatiol areas.

OIL Dikhya, is one of the most visible CSR project under which computer education is imparted to the students of rural schools from OIL operatiol districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and parts of Sivasagar. As per OIL’s MoU with Ministry of Petroleum and tural Gas, Government of India, the project was launched in the year 2012. Before implementing the project, a baseline survey and need assessment study was carried out by a specialized agency which had provided a list of areas. Since 2012-13 to 2015-16, computer education programme is being implemented in 30 schools (six schools by SIRD and 24 schools by IETS) in the districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and newly-formed Charaideo district via mobile education vans/buses to the students of Classes VI, VII and VIII. Since 2012-13, more than 12,265 students were benefitted.

Under CSR activities, adult education classes have also been conducted in 30 areas targeting illiterate and semi-literate people of the rural and tea garden areas. In FY 2014-15, 900 people were provided adult education from various locations of OIL’s operatiol areas in Upper Assam. In FY 2015-16, 1,500 elderly persons have been provided education classes from OIL’s operatiol areas of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and parts of newly-formed Charaideo districts.

Established in 1991, the nursing school in OIL Hospital Duliajan conducts three years General Nursing Midwifery (GNM) training courses which is recognized by the Directorate of Medical Education, Government of Assam Since inception, around 300 women have successfully completed the training. In the last two years, 40 (20 each every year) new students were given admission and trained under the ongoing three-year course.

OIL conducts rural sports in the OIL’s operatiol villages to promote games and sports among the youth and school students with prime focus on promotion of athletics. OIL’s endeavor to promote rural sports was initiated in the year 2001 which provided a platform and encouraged the budding talents to participate at the village level and eventually represent at the district / state levels.

OIL started Sasoni Merbeel Eco Tourism Project, a prime venture in this part of the region. It is a community-driven tourism project implemented by Sasoni Merbeel Eco Tourism Development Committee. Since inception of the project, OIL has been supporting the initiative which has the potential of creating rural entrepreneurs apart from protecting the flora and fau of the region. OIL has provided fincial assistance for solar lighting, pedal boats and battery driver eco-friendly vehicles.  Besides this, OIL signed a MoU with Assam Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (ATDCL) for preparing a detailed project report for setting up of Eco-Tourism Project at Kaziranga on July 24, 2014. Through this MoU, OIL aims to formulate a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the basis of feasibility study for setting up of the Eco-Tourism Project at Kaziranga on a plot of land, which would be arranged by ATDCL at Kaziranga. The DPR would eble OIL to devise a roadmap and a long term broad vision plan for the same. The main objective of the ‘Kaziranga Eco-Tourism Project’ is preservation of wildlife and strengthening the tourism industry in and around Kaziranga tiol Park. Through this project OIL aims to create awareness for wildlife preservation, create sufficient eco-friendly tourist infrastructure, promote art and culture, increase tourist foot falls and create employment opportunity for the local youth.

OIL has ventured into the noblest areas of welfare under CSR by extending need based support to the communities of physically challenged. Every year, as a special gesture under the OIL Merit Scholarship Scheme, OIL provides scholarship in the form of monetary support to students with disabilities and special needs, studying in two special schools of Mriljyoti Rehabilitation Centre and Moran Blind School.

The company has invested heavily in developing rural infrastructure to bring about all-round development of the region. Over the years the company has built over 1,500 km of roads to facilitate and improve basic communication. OIL has constructed many public stages, auditoriums, libraries, lecture halls, computer centres, roadside waiting sheds, upgraded and developed rural hospitals, rural schools and institutes of higher development in various OIL operatiol districts of Northeast India.

OIL under Swachch Bharat Abhijan OIL has already constructed  of 1,471 toilets for boys and girls in government schools in 7 (seven) districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Barpeta, Bongaigaon and Dhubri, installed 20 RO/UV drinking water plants in villages of East Godavari district in OIL operatiol area of KG Basin Project, constructed two toilets for men and women in Rau and Ramgarh villages of Jaisalmer district in operatiol area of Rajasthan Project, cleaned the Bondajan water body under OIL’s Pipeline Headquarters at rangi, Guwahati, and provided 1,000 garbage bins and two garbage disposal trucks to Guwahati Municipal Corporation for garbage collection and cleanliness in different locations of Guwahati.

The General Mager, Public Affairs, OIL, Pranjit Deka, when contacted by  The Sentinel, regarding the ongoing aforementioned CSR activities being undertaken by OIL, stated that the projects were a part of OIL’s socio-economic welfare activities to uplift the rural economy together with developing the education, health, environment, infrastructure and many other sectors. As a result, not only in OIL operatiol areas like Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Aruchal Pradesh, but CSR projects are being carried out in other States. OIL has been spending more than the mandatory sanctioned amount as fixed in a fincial year to cater to the welfare and economic needs of the people.

Deka further added that OIL has introduced the OIL Shikshya Rat Puraskar for recognizing the all-round contribution of the teaching fraternity from provincialized schools and colleges from all over Assam. In the last two fincial years OIL has awarded six teachers from three districts. He also informed that  from July, 2010 OIL  started  a  11-month completely free residential coaching for the meritorious students from the backward sections of the society hailing from Assam and Aruchal Pradesh and the project has been med as Oil India Super 30.

Deka said that OIL under its CSR project had implemented the maximum number of projects so far in the region.