JOIN US'Biofuel potential in coastal districts will be tapped'
Addressing the reporters on Monday in Mangalore State Taskforce on Biofuel Chairman Y B Ramakrishna said that depending on alternative energy resources has become inevitable and hence research are on in the direction of producing biofuel using agriculture waste.
“It is learnt that the coastal districts have in abundance sardine fishes, cashew apples and jackfruits, which are rich source of bio ethanol.”
“All efforts will be made to tap these sources for production of bio-diesel and bio-ethanol,” said the Chairman. He informed that about 50,000 to 70,000 ton sardine oil is being exported to Europe from the state every year.
“Sardine oil does not earn us much at the international market but the Europeans take this oil and extract Omega III from it, which has value in the international market.”
“The oil remaining after extracting the Omega III is used by them for bio-diesel. Efforts are being made to see to it that the entire process is done by us so that we become energy efficient,” he said.
“Approximately 40,000 tonnes of cashew apples ot wasted in the region per year, which can very well be used for producing 15 to 16,000 ton of bio ethanol. There are plans to use waste of Campco too to produce biofuel,” he said.
Programmes
He said that ‘Baradu Bangara’ (waste to gold) and ‘Hasiru Honnu’ (Green Gold) schemes have been taken up by the Taskforce under which a total of 3,000 crore biofuel plants will be planted in the state.
He said that Baradu Bangara schemes aims at bringing marginal forest, non forest government land under cultivation of biofuel tree species by 2013, with involvement of Village Forest Committees and tank user groups. A total of 6,000 hectare of plantation has already been raised on degraded forest land in 2009-10.
An area of 25,000 hectares has already identified for raising plantations in 2010-11. A target has been set to plant one lakh saplings on 18,000 hectare. ‘Hasiru Honnu’ aims at planting biofuels on farm lands through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Taskforce plans to spend Rs 100-105 crore under MGNREGS. Farmers will be given Rs 25 per sapling along with maintenance cost too.
A total of 1.5 crore saplings will be distributed in 30 districts of the state along with Dakshina Kannada under this scheme, he said.