NRL Employees Meet Speaker, Seek House Resolution Against Privatization Move

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Numaligarh Refinery Employees’ Union (NREU) on Wednesday met Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami, and urged him to ensure that the House adopts a resolution to stop the proposed privatization of the NRL (Numaligarh Refinery Limited).

The Speaker informed the delegation that Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had already taken up the issue with the Centre, adding that he would personally discuss the matter with the Chief Minister.

ALA Speaker Goswami also suggested that the Union should meet the Opposition MLAs for raising the issue during the forthcoming session of the Assembly in November.

The delegation led by its working president Ripun Saikia and general secretary Binod Gogoi met the Speaker at the Assembly Secretariat also sought measures to make the NRL “stronger and viable in the greater interest of the people of Assam as well as the entire North East.”

The NRL — a subsidiary of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) — is an outcome of the Assam Accord of 1985. The Union in its memorandum to the Speaker also expressed its apprehension that the NRL will automatically go to private companies once the proposed divestment of government’s shares in BPCL takes place. The delegation strongly protested the proposed privatization move of the Central government.

The delegation also pointed out that since NRL’s inception till 2018-19, it has paid more than Rs 30,000 crore to the national and the state exchequers. Today, it has become the most promising mini-Ratna industry in the country with a net worth of Rs 5,550 crore, the memorandum added.

The Union also proposed that “it will be prudent to merge NRL with IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation) or NRL can be a subsidiary of IOCL by taking up the 61.65% share of BPCL.” Thus, the identity of NRL will also be retained, it suggested.

As of now more than 10,000 people are engaged either directly or indirectly along with stakeholders in the NRL.

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