nUnion Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday agreed to increase the quota of kerosene oil to the forest areas of Chhattisgarh.
The Minister gave the assurance to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel at a meeting in New Delhi when the latter sought permission to produce bio-ethanol from surplus paddy bought from farmers and also demanded an increase in the kerosene oil quota.
Baghel said nearly 80.38 lakh tonnes of paddy was procured in the Kharif marketing year 2018-19 in Chhattisgarh and 83.94 lakh tonnes of paddy in 2019-20, resulting in surplus production of rice, an official statement said.
Thus, the required quantity of rice for the central pool and the state pool under the public distribution system was exceeded. The state was forced to take additional quantities of rice by milling surplus paddy.
He told the Union Minister that the state has made necessary provisions in Chhattisgarh’s Industrial policy to set up ethanol plants. It wants permission to produce ethanol from about six lakh tonnes of paddy.
Baghel drew attention towards the requirement of more kerosene oil in forest areas and asked him to increase the quota of kerosene.
The Minister directed the officials for immediate action in the context. Pradhan pledged to fulfill Baghel's demands with due consideration, the statement said.
