The Lauh Purush Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Shakkar Karkhana Maryadit will be setting up a 14 MW Bagasse based co-generation power plant alongwith a 2500 Tonnes of Cane (TCD) capacity gravity flow sugar plant at Pandaria in Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh.
The entire project is expected to be completed within 12 months, officials stated.
Notably, Sugarcane production has changed the standard of living of farmers, residing in Pandaria block. It has not only resulted in growth of income but led to development of farmers.
Since 20 years, farmers of Pandaria are engaged in sugarcane production. They used to produce jaggery and sell it in the market. Earlier, due to poverty, only hand full of farmers, who were quite rich, were producing sugarcane in 1 to 2,000 acres of land. But today, even small and poor farmers are also engaged in sugarcane farming.
According to estimated figures, about 5 to 6,000 hectares of sugarcane was produced in the year 2012-2013, which increased up to 6900 hectares in the year 2013-2014.
Crossing all the previous records, more than 7800 hectares of sugarcane was cultivated by farmers in 2014-15.
As compared to other crops, sugarcane production is more beneficial. Possibility of famine is less and crop circle is also encouraged. Beside all this, risk of disease is comparatively less in sugarcane farming. Sugarcane production cost effective in all respects as well as helps in improving financial status of farmers, said one of the farmers, Umashankar Shukla, a resident of Maakri village in Pandaria block.
Sugarcane farming is more beneficial for farmers than farming other crops. Kisan Credit Card and Sugar Industry have led to increase in Sugarcane farming in Pandaria block during the past 8 years.
“Farmers have received more debt from government for producing sugarcane, which has led to increase in income. After the opening of one more sugar industry, more farmers will be encouraged for sugarcane production in the block and it will help improving living standards of farmers,” said farmer Nakul Singh Thakur.
Notably, Chhattisgarh is among the leading States for implementing biomass power projects such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, according to Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Chhattisgarh had biomass projects generating a total of 249 MW of power as on March 31, 2015.
The total power generation from biomass projects by 12 other states during the aforesaid period in Megawatts is as follows- Andhra Pradesh ( 288), Gujarat ( 30.50), Haryana ( 13.50), Karnataka ( 107.50), Madhya Pradesh (26), Maharshtra ( 198), Odisha ( 20), Punjab ( 68.50), Rajasthan ( 101), Tamil Nadu ( 211.70), Uttar Pradesh ( 54) and West Bengal ( 26).
The MNRE provides Central Financial Assistance at the rate of Rs25.00 lakh per Mega Watt in special category States and Rs20 lakh per Mega Watt for other States with a cap of Rs1.50 crore per project.
Chhattisgarh produced 527.63 lakh cubic meters of bio-gas from family type bio-gas plants and large bio-gas plants in the entire State during the 11th Five Year Plan period.
Biomass power & Cogeneration programme is implemented with the main objective of promoting technologies for optimum use of country’s biomass resources for grid power generation. Biomass materials used for power generation include bagasse, rice husk, straw, cotton stalk, coconut shells, soya husk, de-oiled cakes, coffee waste, jute wastes, groundnut shells, saw dust etc, officials stated.