Virendra Singh Rawat
Lucknow / Nov 27, 2021
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday laid the foundation of Asia’s biggest ethanol plant in Gonda district, about 120 km from the state capital.
Proposed to be developed over an area of 66 acres in the Maijapur sugar mill complex, which is operated by private sugar major Balrampur Chini, the 350 KLD (kilolitre per day) capacity ethanol plant entails an investment of Rs 450 crore.
It is expected to be ready for commercial production by May 2022 and benefit nearly 60,000 farmers, while creating fresh job opportunities for 250 people.
On Thursday (Nov 25), Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation of Rs 30,000 crore Jewar International Airport in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. The proposed airport is projected as Asia’s biggest when it becomes operational by September 2024.
Ethanol is mixed with petroleum products, which not only reduces emissions but also cuts the oil import bill to that extent. The Centre is targetting to achieve 20 percent ethanol mixing in due course from the current level of about 10 percent.
“The new ethanol plant will not only help in reducing the prices of petroleum products, but provide an additional income source to farmers and create new employment opportunities,” Yogi said in his address.
Moreover, the plant will generate 15 megawatt (mw) power, which will feed the power grid in the Devipatan division of the state.
The CM noted the funds spent on oil imports would get diverted to farmers. The crushing capacity of the Maijapur mill has also been augmented by 25 percent from 32,000 TCD (tonnes crushed per day) to 40,000 TCD now.
Meanwhile, he noted the Centre had withdrawn the three central farm laws in the larger interests of the nation and farmers, even as he claimed the domestic farm sector was in a pitiable condition before Narendra Modi became the prime minister and undertook proactive measures.
“Before 2017, the middlemen used to buy the agricultural produce of farmer, thus reducing their profit margins. Today every farmer is being given the maximum benefit of the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism,” Yogi added.