The Chhattisgarh Government has sent a proposal to the Centre for setting up a fully automated bio-diesel manufacturing plant in the State.
About 500 metric tonnes of Ratanjot (Jatropha) seeds had been procured between October 2015 to January 2016, officials of State Energy Department’s wing Chhattisgarh Bio-Fuel Development Authority (CBDA) informed. The target is to procure 3,000 metric tonnes of seeds in the next fiscal, they stated.
The existing biodiesel manufacturing unit of CBDA located at Mana in Raipur has the installed production capacity of manufacturing three metric tonnes of bio diesel per day. The target is to increase the production to ten metric tonnes in the coming years.
Officials informed that `10 of Minimum Support Price (MSP) per kilogram had been fixed for purchasing Ratanjot (Jatropha) seeds from farmers. The Authorities had been purchasing the high-grade seeds at `15 per kilogram, officials stated.
Organic manure is also produced in the plant and sold in the market. It is sold in the name of Ratanjot Organic Fertiliser. It is the dream project of Chief Minister Raman Singh and it is actively pursued by the authorities concerned, officials informed.
It may be recalled Chief Minister Raman Singh had launched the Biodiesel Project in 2005-06. The project is slowly gaining steam in Chhattisgarh.
The Ratanjot seeds farming had been proving to be a boon to the farmers of the State. On the one hand bio-diesel is being produced and on the other the flower buds are useful as organic manure for the agriculturists. This has been proved by the scientists at the Indira Gandhi Agriculture University (IGAU) in Raipur. They said that flower buds of Jatropha act as harmless insecticides.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a conference had announced that the target is to reduce dependency on imported petroleum products by 10 per cent by 2022. The Chhattisgarh Government is keen on achieving the target of reducing the dependency, officials stated.
The concerned officers mentioned that Ratanjot saplings which were planted on barren lands, forest land and vacant land are bearing fruits after a decade. The concerned agencies are procuring the seeds from the villagers. They are also earning extra income.
The Ratanjot plantations are visible at Pendra-Marwahi’s Pankota, Dumdum,Goda, Kesla, Silpari, Dogaria, Bamhani, Gudumdevri and in Janjgir-Chamopa district’s Hatnewara, Rainkhol, Hardi, Tundri, Jhara,, in Bastar (Jagdalpur) district’s Naingar, Tangiajhori, Jamgaon, in Korea district’s Amrutdhara, Badera, Aamajhand, in districts Korba’s Parsada, Shivpur, Sirkikla, Tanera, in Kabirdham district’s village Rajnandgaon and Rengakhaar, in Dhamtari district’s Nagari-Sihawa region ‘Ratanjot plants re visible in large numbers. There is a lot of demand for Ratanjot seeds in the local market. Only about 40 per cent seeds are being procured.
The Department officers said that Ratanjot buds are a high quality organic fertilizer. Even if a farmer uses less quantity of this organic manure the output of produce is very high.
Notably, the CBDA has already produced more than 180,000 litres of semi-finished bio fuel from its pilot scale production plant in Raipur by procuring Jatropha seeds from within the State, officials stated. Since its inception, the CBDA have carried out plantation of more than 1.50 crore Jatropha saplings in revenue wasteland throughout the State.
The initiative has increased the green cover of the State while generating rural livelihood opportunities in remote villages. On the other hand, notably, Chhattisgarh is among the leading States for implementing biomass based power projects such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, according to Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Chhattisgarh had biomass projects generating a total of 249 MW of power as on March 31, 2015. The total power generation from biomass projects by 12 other states during the aforesaid period in Megawatts is as follows- Andhra Pradesh ( 288), Gujarat ( 30.50), Haryana ( 13.50), Karnataka ( 107.50), Madhya Pradesh (26), Maharshtra ( 198), Odisha ( 20), Punjab ( 68.50), Rajasthan ( 101), Tamil Nadu ( 211.70), Uttar Pradesh ( 54) and West Bengal ( 26).
The MNRE provides Central Financial Assistance at the rate of Rs 25.00 lakh per Mega Watt in special category States and Rs.20 lakh per Mega Watt for other States with a cap of Rs. 1.50 crore per project.
Chhattisgarh produced 527.63 lakh cubic meters of bio-gas from family type bio-gas plants and large bio-gas plants in the entire State during the 11th Five Year Plan period.
Jatropha semi-finished biofuel is an important co-product obtained during the process of biodiesel production.
