· RS 5000 CRORE PROJECT WILL CHECK
STUBBLE BURNING, PROVIDE JOBS TO 4000 PEOPLE
Chandigarh, January 15
The Punjab
government led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian
Oil Corporation Ltd for setting up of bio-gas and bio-CNG plants in the state,
as part of the state’s concerted efforts to find sustainable solutions to paddy
straw burning, which has emerged as a major environmental concern.
The MoU
with IOC was signed by Punjab Bureau of Industrial Promotion (PBIP) and Punjab
Energy Development Agency (PEDA), in the presence of the Chief Minister. It
will facilitate regulatory clearances and incentives by the state government
and will be followed up with a separate technical cooperation MoU between the
public sector undertaking and PEDA.
The
plants, to be based on a new concept and technology, will be set up at a total
investment of Rs 5000 crores, and will generate employment for around 4000
people. The project will be initiated with 42 plants becoming operational in
2018, probably before the paddy season. It will be scaled up to 400 plants over
the next 3-4 years, making it the one of the biggest such projects in the
country.
It is
estimated that 400 units will consume biomass of about 10 million tons per
annum and will produce about 1400 million kg per annum CNG and 6000 million kg
per annum manure. The IOC CGM Subodh Kumar underlined the viability of the
project, which was expected to generate 18-20 per cent people profits.
By
converting bio-mass to compressed bio-gas and bio-CNG, the plants will take
help curb the menace of stubble burning and create additional income to
farmers. The project will also create rural employment & entrepreneurial
opportunities, besides providing a green organic source of compost for soil
enrichment.
The Chief
Minister suggested setting up of societies of unemployed youth and encourage
them to set up the proposed units with the support of the state government, and
the IOC taking up the end product sales. The IOC CGM agreed to explore the
suggestion.
The
Government of Punjab will facilitate identification of land parcels in various
locations of the state for setting up the plants, and also ensure incentives
and benefits as applicable for such plants under the State Industrial and
Business Development Policy-2017 and the State NRSE Policy-2012. Through PEDA,
it will also facilitate Indian Oil to obtain permission for the marketing of
compost/fermented manure and slurry, subject to the completion of all
formalities by IOC.
According
to an official spokesperson, the parties will explore possibilities for further
reduction on the taxes currently applicable on compressed bio-gas/ bio-CNG/
compost/ fermented manure, bio pesticide, CO2, slurry etc. They will also
facilitate promotion of agriculture extension activities to farmers in the
command area, including awareness programme for organic manure.
While PEDA
will be the coordinating agency for the government, Finance Minister Manpreet
Badal suggested providing a nodal officer to IOC to ensure seamless
coordination.
According
to IOC officials, the technology requires no or negligible energy input and
nutrient requirements. It requires a smaller footprint area compared to
composting and the entire process takes places in a closed vessel system, thus
causing no greenhouse emissions and no problem of odor and birds/rodents. The
process is also cost-effective due to the current fuel/electricity prices.
Prominent
amongst others present in the meeting included Finance Minister Manpreet Singh
Badal, Member Parliament and PPCC Chief Sunil Jakhar, Chairman Punjab Mandi
Board Lal Singh, Media Advisor to CM Raveen Thukral, Chief Principal Secretary to
CM Suresh Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Cooperation DP Reddy, Additional
Chief Secretary Agriculture Vishwajit Khanna, Financial Commissioner Revenue
Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, Principal Secretary
Finance Anirudh Tiwari, CEO Invest Punjab and Secretary Industries Rakesh
Verma, CEO PEDA NPS Randhawa, Senior General Manager Renewable Energy Indian
Oil Corporation Subodh Kumar and Chief General Manager IOC Punjab, J&K, HP
and Chandigarh office Sandeep Jain.
