DIGBOI April 4 - The MLA of Digboi LAC, Suren Phukan has demanded early resolution of the burning problems of Digboi Refinery, the AOD marketing sector and the tea garden-related issues surrounding Digboi area.
Tabling these issues on the floor of the Assam Assembly on Tuesday, Phukan said that he smelt a conspiracy of the top IndianOil management and its step-motherly attitude towards the attainment of Divisional status of the Assam Oil Division. He said that the status that Digboi rightfully deserved has been snatched away after the marketing sector was shifted to Kolkata.
According to a press communique, since 2008 the control of all marketing activities of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division) Digboi was shifted to the regional office, Eastern Region, Kolkata. In 2015, all the administrative and financial activities of the marketing segment of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd in the North-East was also transferred to the regional office, Eastern Region, Kolkata. This conspiracy of the top brass of the IndianOil has led to hundreds of workers being thrown out of employment, he alleged. According to him, these administrative and financial activities was conspiratiorially shifted to the regional office, Eastern Region at Kolkata despite stiff resistance by various organisations led by AASU hurting the sentiments of the Assamese people. The MLA as such demanded of the house to immediately create a North East Regional office under Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division) Digboi to serve the entire north-eastern states of India and revert back all the marketing activates from its Kolkata-based Eastern Regional office to the North-east regional office under the fold of IOCL, AOD.
He also demanded to increase the refining capacity of Digboi Refinery from 0.65 million metric tonnes per anum to at least 3.00 mmtpa. Being the oldest refinery in Asia, the capacity of the Digboi Refinery has not been adequately enhanced in comparison to other IOCL refineries in India, he said.
�Being the oldest refinery in Asia, the capacity of Digboi Refinery has not been adequately enhanced in comparison with other IOCL refineries in India. Although IOCL has made an investment of around Rs 1,200 crore in Digboi Refinery in the last 15 to 20 years for modernization of the refinery, but nothing has been done to enhance the production capacity from existing 0.65 million tonne per annum,� Phukon said.
Among other issues, Phukan demanded enhancement of the wages for tea garden workers and improvement of their working conditions by providing adequate basic amenities. Adequate electricity, hospital facilities, schools and other service benefits for the tea community people in and around Digboi was also raised by him. Provisions for granting land patta to small tea growers and fixation of reasonable price of the green tea leaf was also urged.
Responding to his demands, Chandra Mohan Patowary, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the State Industry Minister assured on the floor of the House to take up the matter with all seriousness particularly in regard to the issue of creation of north east regional office for marketing activities under Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division) Digboi and enhancing the capacity of Digboi Refinery.
It may be added here that Phukan was lauded by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal recently for being the first among the BJP MLAs across the State to achieve 100 per cent success in implementing and accomplishing various socio-economic schemes and projects allotted for the development of the people and the constituency.
