Three years on, Punjab’s first bio-ethanol plant hangs fire

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 31

A bio-ethanol plant, which was scheduled to be set up by the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) at a cost of Rs 600 crore at Nasibpura village in Talwandi Sabo, has failed to see the light of day.

The plant was to resolve the issue of paddy stubble burning and the pollution caused due to it in the region. In December 2016, the district administration had identified 40 acres in Nasibpura village where the HPCL was to set up the plant. Representatives of the company had visited the site and approved it. The site was selected as it was in proximity to paddy-producing areas.

It is pertinent to mention that this would have been the first bio-ethanol plant of the state. It would have helped 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 in the area, would create additional revenue of Rs 19-20 crore annually for farmers.

With the setting up of the plant, the farmers would not have to burn paddy stubble, which is a major source of pollution.

Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan said, “The work of providing land is under process and it will be completed soon, after which work will begin on the project.”