Villagers of Bebejiya under Golaghat district stage protests against ONGC

Guwahati: Blaming the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the dilapidated road condition of Bebejiya village in Baroghariya area under Dhansiri subdivision under Golaghat District, local villagers staged a road blockade on Friday.

According to the villagers of Bebejiya, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was carrying on its activities at Bebejiya village in Baroghariya for a long time.

Also, the ONGC was taking out crude oil and gas from the Bebejiya village but allegedly failed to take up any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities for the development of the area.

The protesters also demanded that the ONGC pipeline which has been set up at Bebejiya village should be removed immediately for the better condition of roads.

The protesters also demanded that ONGC should stop exploration work in the village and their workers should immediately leave the place.

Meanwhile, in related to the development work of the area, around 500 weavers from the village, staged out a protest seeking to repair the roads of the village that ONGC vehicles have made worse in the recent months.

On the other hand, these 500 villagers blocked a road further alleged that water on the streets was contaminated and smells like petrol.

Speaking to the media, police source informed that the police team and the ONGC officials rushed to the spot and held a talk with the protesters.

It may also be mentioned that the CSR activities under ONGC are essentially guided by the project-based approach. Moreover, the guidelines are reportedly issued by the Department of Public Enterprises and Ministry of Corporate Affairs of the Government of India.

The CSR initiatives in India by ONGC were marked by an unrelenting commitment to several large-scale key projects as well as the initiation of several new projects identified under the 12 focus areas of ONGC.

Furthermore, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged in ONGC as a vital tool for social value creation with Triple Bottom Line Approach - People, Planet & Profit. The approach is to Create a Positive Impact on Society, Shared Value for business and communities and involving maximum Stakeholder Participation. In line with Companies Act 2013 and DPE Guidelines 2014 (Schedule VII), ONGC has put in place its Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainable development (CSR & SD) policy.

As per earlier ONGC report, the Team CSR has defined a set of core values for themselves- Compassion, Conviction and Innovation - to guide them in serving the underprivileged and extends to ONGC’s partners, stakeholders, communities and even the environment. Besides being focused primarily on the welfare of economically and socially deprived sections of society, Team CSR aims at developing techno-economically viable and environment-friendly projects having sustainable impacts and ensuring highest standards of safety and environmental protection.