The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Panel recomnmends mandatory use of biofuel in State-owned vehicles

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Panel recomnmends mandatory use of biofuel in State-owned vehicles

B.S. Satish Kumar

Subcommittee of experts prepares draft policy on biofuel

Biofuel will reduce environmental pollution
It will provide supplementary incomes to farmers

BANGALORE: The draft biofuel policy of Karnataka has suggested enacting legislation for mandatory use of biofuel.

The draft policy, which was prepared by a subcommittee of experts, constituted by the Agriculture Department, has proposed the mandatory use of biofuel in all State-owned vehicles, including those of public sector undertakings. It has recommended that use of biofuel should be made mandatory for static machineries, including power generators of the corporate entities.

The committee has suggested popularising the use of bio-fuel by making it mandatory for vehicles of the government agencies and machineries of the corporates, according to biofuel expert Balakrishna Gowda, who is a member of the sub-committee.

Blending

To begin with, the draft policy wants the State to continue with the Union Government’s norm of blending five per cent biofuel with fossil fuel and thereafter progressively stepping it up to 10 per cent by 2015, 15 per cent by 2020 and ultimately to reach 20 per cent by 2025.

Of late, much importance is being given to biofuel as it would not only reduce the dependence on fossil fuels but also save foreign exchange. In addition, biofuel would reduce environmental pollution. The policy notes that the use of biofuel has shown substantial reduction in the emission of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide as well as the particulate matter. Hence use of bio-diesel should help in maintaining stringent emission norms in the days to come.

Mr. Gowda said bio-fuel would provide supplementary incomes to farmers, especially sugarcane growers, who are in dire straits owing to the crash in prices of various agricultural produce. While bio-diesel is produced from the seeds of neem, jatropa, honge and other species, ethanol (which can be blended with petrol) is produced from sugarcane, sweet sorghum corn and cellulose plants.

According to the draft policy, biofuel plants and trees can be grown in about five lakh hectares of land, including the backyard, bunds and hedges. It will provide an opportunity to net an additional income of Rs. 20 crore to Rs. 25 crore to each district.

The draft policy hopes to generate additional employment for 15 to 60 days a year in rural areas through biofuel activities. For this, it has recommended setting up of oil extraction units at the village, taluk and district-levels, including those managed by the community at panchayats besides promoting small scale extraction units at home-level.

To encourage the biofuel activity, the draft policy has recommended tax holidays and various incentives besides remunerative prices.

Laying emphasis on the marketing network, it has recommended establishing a cooperative market system on the lines of milk unions with assured price and purchase policy. Plans are also afoot to derive carbon trading benefits from this eco-friendly activity.

The sub-committee has suggested setting up of an autonomous board to oversee the implementation of biofuel policy and monitor the activities related to research and development.

The draft policy has now been circulated to representatives of various bodies and institutions to elicit their views.

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