Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday again urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to grant permission to manufacture bio-ethanol in the state.
He said this while interacting with the Minister at a virtual meeting of Chief Ministers.
“Chhattisgarh is a surplus paddy producing state and is known as a ‘Rice Bowl’. The excess paddy could be utilized here for manufacturing bio-ethanol that will prevent the import of fossil fuel," Baghel said.
It will benefit the farmers and will also save foreign exchange, he added.
The Chief Minister also demanded payment of the pending amount of Rs 4,140 crores to Chhattisgarh as its share from a coal block penalty.
The Centre should also reduce the cess on petrol and diesel so that its price is brought down, he said.
A request was also made by Baghel for the Centre to procure 23 lakh tonnes of ‘Usna’ (par-boiled) rice from the state.