Bihar to oppose Centre's notice on ethanol (Business Standard 21th Jan 2008)
Bihar Government to oppose Centre's order that only Sugar mill can produce ethanol
The government of Bihar has strongly opposed the Centre’s notification imposing a rider on ethanol production. The move, it claims, will significantly impact the state’s industrialisation.
The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, in power for about two years, has made little achievement in industrialisation. The Sugarcane Development Minister Nitish Mishra said he would write to the Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar, asking for an exception to Bihar for ethanol production. “If need arises, our chief minister will intervene to solve the issue,” Mishra told Business Standard.
With the carving out of Jharkhand in 2000, Bihar has been left with no significant minerals resources to attract investments in mineral-based industry and is now primarily suited for agro-based industries.
Bihar, with barely 2 per cent of the country’s sugar production cannot be compared to a state like Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra, which individually account for over 30 per cent of the country’s total sugar output, said Mishra.
On December 28, the central government issued a notification amending the 1966 Sugarcane Control Order, to enable direct usage of sugarcane juice for ethanol. However, it allowed only sugar mills to undertake direct production of ethanol. More
Bihar Government to oppose Centre's order that only Sugar mill can produce ethanol
The government of Bihar has strongly opposed the Centre’s notification imposing a rider on ethanol production. The move, it claims, will significantly impact the state’s industrialisation.
The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, in power for about two years, has made little achievement in industrialisation. The Sugarcane Development Minister Nitish Mishra said he would write to the Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar, asking for an exception to Bihar for ethanol production. “If need arises, our chief minister will intervene to solve the issue,” Mishra told Business Standard.
With the carving out of Jharkhand in 2000, Bihar has been left with no significant minerals resources to attract investments in mineral-based industry and is now primarily suited for agro-based industries.
Bihar, with barely 2 per cent of the country’s sugar production cannot be compared to a state like Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra, which individually account for over 30 per cent of the country’s total sugar output, said Mishra.
On December 28, the central government issued a notification amending the 1966 Sugarcane Control Order, to enable direct usage of sugarcane juice for ethanol. However, it allowed only sugar mills to undertake direct production of ethanol. More
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