09-16-2005, 06:41 PM
Mumâs the word for Mani Shankar Aiyar
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->When Congress MP Rahul Gandhi asked Union Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar to set up a petroleum training school in Rae Bareliâhis mother Sonia Gandhiâs constituencyâthe Minister said it couldnât be done. He quoted official consultants as saying it made little sense, there were no refineries nearby, no infrastructure, no power, no civic amenities.
Within two months, Aiyar swallowed all his wordsâafter a letter from the mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Soniaâs note (dated April 7) began, <b>ââI have seen your reply to Rahul...you may like to ensure that the project is not taken somewhere else...the necessary clearances would, of course, have to be undertaken by your ministry...I shall be grateful if I am kept informed about the progress being made on this matter.ââ </b>
Her order couldnât be clearer.
So on May 7, Aiyar visited the site in Rae Bareli and got back to her four days later saying yes, it would surely be done. That his ministry was ââtaking steps to engage a consultant to re-study the proposal bearing in mind that the earlier report of (the consultants) is now quite outdated.ââ He has even scaled up the project from a mere training school over 11.6 acresâmeant to provide technicians to the petroleum sectorâto the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology spread over 600 acres! Not just that, he has also revived an earlier plan to have a refinery nearby.
The funding? The time-tested tradition of milking PSUs. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is the project leader and state-run oil companiesâalready complaining of mounting lossesâhave been told they have to contribute towards the institute as a proportion of their annual turnover.
ââI had not turned it down. I gathered all the information and sent it down,ââ Aiyar told The Sunday Express today. Asked about his U-turn, he said: ââI went to the area to see for myself and found that there was enough land to build the institute.ââ
<b>But official records show that Aiyar moved only after Sonia Gandhiâs letter to him. </b>
This despite the fact that the project has been a non-starter ever since the first proposal for a National Petroleum Technical School was floated in 1996 by then Petroleum Minister Captain Satish Sharmaâhe even laid the foundation stone. BPCL had then selected Chhatoh, in Rae Bareli, and bought 4 acres from UP State Industrial Development Corp.
However, the land was surrendered after Educational Consultants of India, which prepared the feasibility study for BPCL, said Rae Bareli ââwas not the most suitable of places compared to other locations.ââ
Reasons: lack of proximity to refinery, petroleum installations, industrial concentration or potential for industrial development; inadequate power and water, faculty or facilities or even civic and medical amenities.
The proposal was modified to five such institutes in the five regions of the country but that, too, got shot down in 2000 when the oil industry expressed reservations about being able to provide employment to all those who would be trained at these institutes.
Asked why was he now expanding the scope of the training school to an institute, Aiyar said: ââOil ministers of Qatar and Saudi Arabia told me about the respect there is for Indian engineers. In Canada, I was told that there are not enough qualified engineers.ââ
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->When Congress MP Rahul Gandhi asked Union Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar to set up a petroleum training school in Rae Bareliâhis mother Sonia Gandhiâs constituencyâthe Minister said it couldnât be done. He quoted official consultants as saying it made little sense, there were no refineries nearby, no infrastructure, no power, no civic amenities.
Within two months, Aiyar swallowed all his wordsâafter a letter from the mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Soniaâs note (dated April 7) began, <b>ââI have seen your reply to Rahul...you may like to ensure that the project is not taken somewhere else...the necessary clearances would, of course, have to be undertaken by your ministry...I shall be grateful if I am kept informed about the progress being made on this matter.ââ </b>
Her order couldnât be clearer.
So on May 7, Aiyar visited the site in Rae Bareli and got back to her four days later saying yes, it would surely be done. That his ministry was ââtaking steps to engage a consultant to re-study the proposal bearing in mind that the earlier report of (the consultants) is now quite outdated.ââ He has even scaled up the project from a mere training school over 11.6 acresâmeant to provide technicians to the petroleum sectorâto the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology spread over 600 acres! Not just that, he has also revived an earlier plan to have a refinery nearby.
The funding? The time-tested tradition of milking PSUs. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is the project leader and state-run oil companiesâalready complaining of mounting lossesâhave been told they have to contribute towards the institute as a proportion of their annual turnover.
ââI had not turned it down. I gathered all the information and sent it down,ââ Aiyar told The Sunday Express today. Asked about his U-turn, he said: ââI went to the area to see for myself and found that there was enough land to build the institute.ââ
<b>But official records show that Aiyar moved only after Sonia Gandhiâs letter to him. </b>
This despite the fact that the project has been a non-starter ever since the first proposal for a National Petroleum Technical School was floated in 1996 by then Petroleum Minister Captain Satish Sharmaâhe even laid the foundation stone. BPCL had then selected Chhatoh, in Rae Bareli, and bought 4 acres from UP State Industrial Development Corp.
However, the land was surrendered after Educational Consultants of India, which prepared the feasibility study for BPCL, said Rae Bareli ââwas not the most suitable of places compared to other locations.ââ
Reasons: lack of proximity to refinery, petroleum installations, industrial concentration or potential for industrial development; inadequate power and water, faculty or facilities or even civic and medical amenities.
The proposal was modified to five such institutes in the five regions of the country but that, too, got shot down in 2000 when the oil industry expressed reservations about being able to provide employment to all those who would be trained at these institutes.
Asked why was he now expanding the scope of the training school to an institute, Aiyar said: ââOil ministers of Qatar and Saudi Arabia told me about the respect there is for Indian engineers. In Canada, I was told that there are not enough qualified engineers.ââ
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