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Agri-Biz & Commodities - Cultivation
Farm Ministry plumps for JATROPHA cultivation
Gaurav Raghuvanshi
New Delhi June 11
The Agriculture Ministry has drawn up an Rs 1,430 crore blueprint to plant
JATROPHA trees, a hardy tree species popularly known as 'Rattanjyot', in four
lakh hectares of wasteland in eight states as a project to produce bio-diesel
and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
"The proposal, prepared by the National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils
Development Board, has been sent to the planning Commission for clearance, This
was among the first schemes cleared by the new Agriculture Minister, Mr. Raj Nath
Singh, after he took office last month, " according to a senior official.
The proposal involves plantation of JATROPHA trees in 50,000 hectares each in
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Chattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh in the next four years with an outlay of Rs 1,200
crore.
In addition, the proposal involves establishment of 160 seed
procurement centers and other facilities for extracting JATROPHA oil at a cost
of Rs 160 crore. The Ministry also intends to spend Rs 70 crore in capacity
building programmes to motivate farmers to take up JATROPHA cultivation and seed
collection, the official said.
The Railways Minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar, has already announced plans to grow
JATROPHA trees along railway tracks and produce bio-diesel for internal use in
collaboration with downstream petroleum giant Indian Oil Corporation.
According to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Indian Oil will grow
JATROPHA plants on railway land and sell the oil back it. The Ministry has
agreed to use the oil back it. The Ministry has agreed to use the oil in its
locomotives.
The Agriculture Ministry's proposal involves an expenditure of Rs 175 crore
in the current year itself, followed by Rs 251 crore, Rs 447 crore and Rs 457
crore respectively in the next three years of the Tenth Plan.
"Once the trees stabilise in 4-5 years, the investment is estimated to yield
about Rs 6 lakh tonnes of bio - diesel valued at Rs 1,020 crore per annum for
over 45 years," the Agriculture Ministry official said.
According to the proposal, the project has the potential to generate over
4.7lakh jobs apart from providing green coverage to large wasteland areas. Over
400 non-Government organisations and cooperatives have already expressed their
interest in the programme, he said.
JATROPHA oil has been tested successfully in diesel engines by research
institutions like Indian Institute of Petroleum Research and Punjab Agriculture
University at Ludhiana. The prestigious Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore
has fabricated equipment that was capable of producing bio-diesel on commercial
basis. In some countries like the US, Malaysia, Austria and Nicaragua, JATROPHA
oil is already being used as a substitute for diesel.
Research shows that use of bio-diesel reduces hydrocarbon emissions by 50
percent and brings down cancer - causing particulate matter levels by as much as
94 percent over diesel, the official said.
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