Public Sector oil and gas sector companies Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, ONGC, and GAIL on Thursday signed MoUs with Badrinath Utthan Charitable Trust to contribute ₹99.6 crore in the first phase of construction and redevelopment of Badrinath Dham as a spiritual smart hill town.
The developmental activities will include river embankment work, building all-terrain vehicular path, building bridges, beautifying existing bridges, establishing gurukul facilities with accommodation, creating toilet and drinking water facilities, installing streetlights, and mural paintings, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a statement.
“The Oil and Gas PSUs will not only contribute to the development work of the Badrinath, but are also part of the development of Kedarnath, Uttarkashi, Yamunotri and Gangotri,” it said.
“Today's event is a significant milestone in the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of developing Badrinath shrine as a mini smart and spiritual city, without compromising on the religious sanctity and mythological importance of the region,” said Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
100 oxygen plants
Oil and gas PSUs are also setting up 100 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Medical Oxygen Generation Plants in public health facilities across the country, the Ministry said in a second statement.
Hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi will be covered under the initiative, it added. The entire expenditure for these plants will be borne by the companies from their CSR fund.
These plants will employ technology provided by DRDO and CSIR, absorbing nitrogen from ambient air to concentrate oxygen. Orders have been placed with the Indian vendors for these plants, and these will start becoming operational from this month itself, and by July, all such plants will come up, the statement added.