Guwahati, March 10 (PTI): The ONGC Limited today launched its largest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in the country by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for setting up of a multi-speciality hospitality in Assam.
The PSU signed the MoA with Aurangabad-based Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Vaidyakiya Pratisthan (BAVP) to set up the Rs 312.34 crore hospital at Rajabari in Sibsagar district, which would be completed in three phases.
“ONGC is committed to implement its CSR initiatives across the country and has given special focus on the North East by setting up its single largest project anywhere in the country,” officiating chairman-cum-managing director Shashi Shankar told reporters after signing of the MoA here.“ONGC is a responsible corporate and besides its operational responsibilities, is equally focused on the economic upliftment of people in and around its operational areas,” he said.
ONGC had spent Rs 421 crore on CSR activities during the last financial year and this year it was expected to cross Rs 500 crore, Shankar said, adding the company had earmarked 25 per cent of its total CSR outlay for the North East in 2016-17.
“We have a definite policy for CSR activity and are implementing projects much before it became mandatory to spend two per cent of profit after tax on such initiative,” he said.
The multi-speciality hospital, to be set up with the support of BAVP’s Dr Hegdewar Hospital in Aurangabad, would provide quality health care to people living around the Assam asset area.
The decision to set up the hospital at Sibsagar was taken following a survey which found that majority of the patients moved out of the state for speciality treatment, while a very small percentage moved to Dibrugarh’s Assam Medical College Hospital or to Guwahati, Shankar said.
“There is a deficit of quality medical service and this hospital will cater to the need of the people living in and around our areas of operation in Assam, besides fulfilling the aspirations of the stakeholders,” he said.
