Vigilance Awareness Week concludes at Bongaigaon Refinery

OUR CORRESPONDENT

BONGAIGAON: The week-long observance of Vigilance Awareness Week at Bongaigaon Refinery that had begun on October 27, came to an end on November 2 with the valedictory function held at the management conference hall in presence of a large gathering that was present virtually on Zoom platform.

The function was attended by SP Baruah, Chief General Manager and Refinery Head, KailashPati, CGM (Project), and other senior officials at the Management Conference Hall. AnuragAgarwala, IGP of BTAD, attended the function as the chief guest.

Addressing the gathering, SP Baruah, CGM & RH-BGR, stressed that processes in Indian Oil had been streamlined and standardized for transparency and making them corruption free. "We have written down systems and procedures that discourage the use of discretionary powers. E-tendering is a major step in this regard. Open tender is resorted to for nearly 100 per cent of all works/ procurements, except in the case of proprietary procurement/ jobs or under very exceptional circumstances in the interest of the corporation. However, all of us need to make constant endeavour to make our activities more and more transparent and equitable," he said.

He also said that every employee of Indian Oil had a significant role to play in nation building. "On one hand, being a PSU, Indian Oil has access to vast natural resources and deals with substantial amount of public money. It is our responsibility to use these resources and funds in the best possible manner to ensure that the intended benefit is reaped by the society at large. On the other hand, we are also a commercial enterprise and should also ensure that we generate adequate returns on the investments made by government/ stakeholders. Such dual role and responsibilities necessitate that we conduct our business in a free, fair and transparent manner. It is the responsibility of each one of us to be watchful, to be alert, and to be vigilant in our day to day business activities," he added.

Baruah said that it was important to work in a proactive manner to prevent lapses from happening rather than taking curative action later. He also urged everyone to inculcate the true essence of honesty and integrity and also to educate children as well as public towards building a corruption-free society and improving the nation's rank in corruption Perceptions Index.

AnuragAgarwal, IGP- BTAD, said that starting point to promote integrity and prevent corruption was to ensure a culture of transparency in the areas where it mattered most, at the heart of the public. "Public participation is very important if corruption is to be removed. The government has already put in place systems, mechanisms and machineries and strict laws against corruption but the usefulness of these depend on the public. The public should use these tools if they are facing difficulties getting their legal dues from any quarter. Enforcement of such laws to the full potential will surely help in eradicating corruption from our society to a large extent," he said. He also added that RTI was one of the strong instruments in the hands of the public which could eliminate discretionary power abuse. He also shared his own personal experience with regards to the benefits that he could garner through the right use of RTI.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, BB Brahma, GM (Vig) highlighted that the Central Vigilance Commission as the apex integrity institution of the country, had been thriving to promote transparency, probity and integrity in public life. One of the outreach measures to promote these values in various Central Government offices and public sector undertakings is the observance of Vigilance Awareness Week every year wherein all the stakeholders are encouraged to fight corruption. Brahma also read out the activity report covering the activities conducted during VAW-2020.

During the program, a special issue of e-Varnali - the in-house magazine of BGR was released by SP Baruah, CGM & RH, in presence of all dignitaries.

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