The public sector Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Cauvery basin, has distributed welfare assistance to the tune of Rs. 72.60 lakh to beneficiaries, mostly schools in the district, under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
Addressing a function organised at the Collectorate here on Saturday, R.K. Khanna, Executive Director and Basin Manager, Cauvery basin (ONGC), Chennai, appealed to the teachers and heads of schools to educate the people in their areas about the goodness of ONGC projects.
He said the ONGC was implementing various exploration projects for the overall benefit of the country but a section of the people were carrying out a disinformation campaign that the projects were against the welfare of the people. “The teachers should educate the people and create awareness that the projects would bring them employment and prosperity,” he said.
He said the ONGC’s CSR initiatives ensured welfare of the downtrodden and underprivileged in its operational areas. “In the last three years, the ONGC, under its CSR, has spent around Rs. 6 crore in the whole of Tamil Nadu,” he said. ONGC’s financial assistance helped government, aided and panchayat schools to improve the infrastructure facilities, he said.
In all, 36 beneficiaries from the district were given total financial assistance of Rs. 66.30 lakh and one each from Madurai and Sivaganga district Rs. 6.30 lakh, he said. The money was meant for providing drinking water facilities, computers, audio systems and sports equipment for schools.
Speaking on the occasion, Assistant Superintendent of Police G. Suguna Singh commended the ONGC for giving back the revenue part of its profit to the society. There were misconceptions about the activities of ONGC projects, he said and called upon the teachers to remove them. M.V. Cherian, General Manager, in charge-HR (ONGC Chennai) was present.
