NRL completes its first smart model village project

Central oil PSU Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has completed its first Model Village project at Gandhigaon in Assam's Golaghat district.

To usher in direct grassroot intervention through CSR activities, the integrated development plan for village Gandhigaon near Khumtai was conceived, NRL Senior General Manager (HR) A K Bhattacharya said.

To turn the backward village into a smart model one, he sadi work was done in three verticals -- sanitation, drinking water and solar energy for home and street lighting.

Construction of a community house with various recreational facilities was also done.

For drinking water, a Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant was was completed and commissioned in only eight weeks, NRL DGM (CSR) Pankaj Kumar Barua said.

Managed by the Village Development Committee, the villagers have to pay a token monthly fee to the VDC for its maintenance and self sustainability.

Barua said 77 toilets were completed and handed over to the beneficiaries within five months, thereby solving problems of the women and reducing sanitation-related illness.

The village was electrified by NRL but 10 houses could not be reached as the village was bisected by a railway line, he said.

As a part of the initiative, ten Solar Home Systems has been installed in the homes of those without access to regular electricity supply.

Two solar Street Lighting Systems have been installed and strategically located in the village.

These works created an atmosphere of hope and positive thinking in the village, Bhattacharya added.