Nagpur : Maharashtra Government has approved setting up a plant to produce ethanol and CNG fuel from weed in Bhandara district. A decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Mumbai. Bhandara-Gondia’s Guardian Minister Parinay Fuke, Shobha Fadnavis, ex-MLC, Shantanu Goel, District Collector, Anbalagan, CEO, MIDC, Milind Patke, Executive Director, Bharat Petroleum, were also present at the meeting.
District Collector was to told to identify 100 acres land for the project in MIDC and the cost is pegged at Rs 1,500 crore. Anticipating future needs, officials were told to identify and acquire extra land.
The fuel plant can generate jobs in the area and Paddy cultivators too stand to gain in a big way. This fuel project can also be a game changer for Bhandara district. Fuke informed that 12 fuel plants are planned in India of which four are almost on verge of completion. About 3.84 lakh tonnes of weed if produced in Bhandara alone and another 3.46 tonnes in neighbouring Gondia district.
Currently this weed is burnt by farmers but now Government plans to use the same for generating ethanol and CNG. The weed would be collected and pressed to prepares its bales would also flourish once the unit starts functioning.
Bharat Petroleum has agreed to provide machinery for making fuel from the weed. Fuke said one can also use Shell technology to produce ethanol from other agriculture and forest products and it will help in reducing cost of ethanol.
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