Bihar Writes To Centre To Increase Ethanol Procurement

Patna: The Bihar government has written to the Union government to increase the quota of ethanol procurement from manufacturers based in the state. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Industries Minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal will soon visit Delhi to meet Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over the issue.

"In the MoU with Bihar, the Government of India (GOI) fixed the quota of ethanol procurement at 1060 kilolitres per day, but the capacity of the ethanol production units in the state is 1602 kilolitres per day. Earlier, the GOI used to procure more than the quota to fulfil its requirements, but has now stopped doing so," Jaiswal said.

"Technically, the GOI is not wrong, but we have written to it to increase the purchase quota of ethanol from Bihar as per the capacity of the manufacturing plants. We are taking this seriously, and a decision on it will be made very soon. Our chief minister will be visiting Delhi. We will request him to talk to the Union petroleum minister over this," Jaiswal added.

He asserted that the state government would make all-out efforts to ensure that the procurement quota is increased and more ethanol units are established in Bihar. The industries minister was replying to a short-notice question by Janata Dal United (JDU) MLA Shyam Rajak, in which he claimed that several of the 22 ethanol plants were facing closure or losses because the public sector oil companies had cut down procurement from them by half.

"This is leading to heavy losses, bankruptcy and closure of 60 per cent of ethanol factories in the state. Around 700 people working in them have lost their jobs. The farmers who grow maize, one of the main ingredients used in ethanol manufacturing, are also facing related problems in selling their produce and getting adequate prices," Shyam pointed out.

Shyam gave the data of ethanol procurement by the Centre from other states and pointed out that around 73 per cent of total production in Odisha, 70 per cent in Haryana, 67 per cent in West Bengal, 65 per cent in Punjab, and 62 per cent in Himachal Pradesh was being lifted by the Oil PSUs. BJP MLAs Rajneesh Kumar and Jibesh Kumar, and RJD MLA Kumar Sarvajit, also joined the issue. They highlighted the predicament of entrepreneurs, workers and farmers.

However, Jaiswal asserted that, as per his report, all the ethanol units were functioning in the state and were closed for only seven days in December. "We are still awaiting the reports for January this year. We are still giving incentives to all the ethanol plants. How can we then claim that they have shut down," Jaiswal asked.

Several MLAs said that the government should also consider supplying ethyl alcohol, as ethanol is scientifically known, to liquor manufacturing companies based in other states. Bihar has implemented total prohibition and banned manufacturing, trade and consumption of liquor since April 2016.

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