2 years on, work on Rs 600-cr ethanol plant yet to take off

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 6

The bioethanol plant, which was scheduled to be set up by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) at a cost of Rs 600 crore at Nasibpura village in Talwandi Sabo, has yet to come up. The aim of the plant was to solve the issue of paddy stubble burning and the pollution caused due to it in the region.

The plant was to use farm waste paddy stubble as bio-fuel in its functioning, thereby paying farmers for the farm refuse that they set on fire. It was stated that the environment-friendly plant would go a long way in ensuring that farm waste would find proper utilisation and the same would not create pollution.

The foundation stone of the plant was laid by former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal in December 2016 ahead of the Assembly elections in 2017. Around three years have gone by, but the work on the project has failed to take off.

In December 2016, the district administration had identified 40 acres of land at Nasibpura village where HPCL was to set up the plant. Representatives of HPCL had visited the site and approved it. The site was identified and selected as it was in close proximity to paddy-producing areas. According to sources, the project initially got delayed as more land was required for the project. Subsequently, the district administration received a request to arrange another 11 to 12 acres of land adjacent to the existing site of the plant.

Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan said, “We are working on providing land to them and it will be completed within two months, after which they will start work on it.” He expressed hope that work on setting up the plant would be initiated soon.

As work on the plant has failed to take off, farmers in the area are left with no option but to burn paddy stubble again this year. Farmer leaders claim that they do not have any other option but to burn paddy stubble. BKU Ekta Ugraha district president Shingara Singh Mann said, “Farmers are aware that paddy stubble is harmful for them as well, but they do not have any other alternative because if they do not burn it and plough the stubble, then they have to bear Rs 6,000 per acre, which farmers cannot afford. So, they had demanded that the government should give them a bonus of Rs 6,000 per acre or Rs 200 per quintal to the farmer.”

It is pertinent to mention that this would be the first bio-ethanol plant in the state. It would help people of the Malwa region in many ways. As per an estimate, the plant would consume a minimum of 400 tonnes of paddy straw daily for producing 100 kilolitres of ethanol. It would be enough to meet at least 26 per cent of the total ethanol requirements of the state. The project, which would generate employment for 1,200-1,300 people of the area, would create an additional revenue of Rs 19-20 crore annually for farmers.