SIVASAGAR, Nov 14 - An institute of national importance, especially in regard to Petroleum Technology, was a long-cherished dream of the people of Sivasagar since many decades now.
Various public and student organisations like Sivasagar media fraternity, AASU, ATASU, Brihattar Asomiya Yuva Moncha, AIDSF, SFI, Senior Citizens� Forum, etc., put relentless pressure on successive governments for such an institution. It somehow got fulfilled while the then Tarun Gogoi government and late Member of Parliament Bijoy Krishna Handique finally impressed upon the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to set up an institute in Sivasagar, the centre of oil exploration and production by Navaratna PSU ONGC since 1959.
The then, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in presence of the Union Minister of Petroleum and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi laid the foundation stone of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) at Palasani in Sivasagar on February 19, 2011.
But due to reasons not known, the institution set up through an Act of Parliament went into a state of abeyance for five years. Finally on May 13, 2017, Union Minister of Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan in presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the construction work of the RGIPT campus in Sivasagar at a function in Rajabari after the BJP government came to power.
The objectives behind setting up the institution were to facilitate local students in acquiring national-level technical knowledge in the field at their doorstep and to provide skilled manpower to the energy sector industries like BCPL, ONGC, OIL, Assam Gas Company, HPCL and GAIL.
It was especially important in view of increasing demand for skilled personnel in the oil sector hub of Upper Assam. Even when the institute did not have its own building, courses on Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering began in earnest for the first batch in rented accommodation in various parts of this heritage temple town.
Fortunately today, classrooms with all modern facilities are ready at the Assam Energy Centre with massive construction work for the workshop and the laboratory going on in the region. Against this backdrop of progress and development, there has been some negative information percolating into the social media and the public that have caused serious concern among the stakeholders.
The AASU�s Sivasagar unit through a memorandum to the Chief Minister on November 10 alleged that a move is afoot to relegate the RGIPT at Palasani here to a subsidiary unit of the RGIPT, Jais, Amethi, which will obviously be of lesser importance. AASU education secretary Sarat Hazarika, district-level leaders Manob Hazarika, Samiran Phukan, Subhash Chandra Das, Dipankar Saikia, Pritom Borgohain, Jipom Bora and Nayan Moni Sarmah demanded that the government should take urgent step to upgrade the institute as a full-fledged national institute.
The students� body through a seven-point charter of demands sought introduction of new job-oriented courses in addition to three-year Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Fire and Safety Engineering, besides Electronics and Instrumentation being taught at present.
It demanded engagement of local qualified personnel and bringing down the rate of fees. AASU strongly criticised the management policy of depriving locals in appointment of teachers� posts. AASU through the memorandum sought to bring it to the notice of the Chief Minister that RGIPT initially employed 15 teachers and only three were retained as permanent staff while appointing 12 more from outside the state allegedly through its lobby- centric covert employment policy. It opposed the policy of the RGIPT management to replace the post of Principal with that of a Coordinator.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Professor Chinmoyjit Sarmah, Coordinator, clarified that a decision to change the name of the institution from RGIPT, Assam Centre to Assam Energy Centre was taken through a proposal adopted in the last board of directors meeting. Not surprisingly, it has in no way relegated the status of the institution, but has given it an independent identity like the Bengaluru Energy Centre, he justified.
The Assam Energy Centre is still in its nascent stage and provides diploma holders for energy needs in the North East region. However, the future of the national institution set up on a 100-acre plot of land is promising, the Coordinator speculated. Dr Bhaskarjyoti Deka, Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department informed that the total number of seats have been increased from 90 to 210 in just three years� time with the introduction of new subjects like Fire and Safety Engineering, besides Instrumentation and Electronics Engineering. He further informed that the toppers from Assam Energy Centre will be given lateral admission in B Tech programmes in the main RGIPT at Amethi, which is like gaining admission into IIT.
Regarding fee hike allegations, the Coordinator said that Rs 26,000 fee for two semesters is minimal against world class facilities provided to each candidate in the prestigious institution with massive infrastructural investments. Fee for SC/ST students is only Rs 7,000 per semester. Regarding the appointment of faculty members from outside the state, Professor Sarmah said that 8 teachers from the state out of 18 were appointed as permanent staff, which proportion-wise is very encouraging and all national institutions are run with teachers from a global community of experts and academicians.
Appointment policy, recruitment process undertaken online is subject to public scrutiny. Anyone can go online and find out if any thing was wrong, he added. The construction works, done by the CPWD, so far appears to be of good quality.
