The Union minister also asked VSI and its president, Pawar, to develop proper varieties for release in Vidarbha. He said the sugar industry in Vidarbha has not developed much but there is still scope for the same.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Saturday stressed on the need for sugar mills to opt for more production of ethanol.
Speaking at the Sugar Conclave organised by the Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) in Pune, Gadkari said production of ethanol has to be ramped up given the slew of policies the central government has in the pipeline, which include, among others, flexi engine vehicles.
The event was attended by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray virtually. NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar attended the event physically.
Ethanol, the fuel additive derived from molasses — the sticky product generated during production of sugar from cane juice — has proved to profitable for the sugar industry, given the incentives the central government has offered for its production.Several sugar mills in the country as well as Maharashtra have started producing ethanol and the state has seen diversion of nearly 15 lakh tonnes of sugar for production of the fuel additive. Recently, the central government decided to prepone its plan of 20 per cent ethanol blending to 2025.
To achieve this level of blending, the country needs to produce 1,200 crore litres of ethanol but at present, the total production capacity is around 730 crore litres.“Flexi engines, i.e engines which can run both on petrol and ethanol as fuel, will soon be introduced. Mills should put up pumps where ethanol will be directly sold as fuel. This will help mills become independent,” said Gadkari.
At the event, Pawar also spoke about the need of increasing cane acreage in Vidarbha region. The Gosekhurd project will help in increasing the availability of water in the region, he said. “Cane was the main crop in Vidarbha but over the years, farmers have diverted to other crops. Vasantdada Sugar Institute should develop varieties suitable for the region,” he said. Pawar also urged mills to finalise their cane harvesting programme well in advance. His remark comes as the state has seen unprecedented delay in finishing the present season. Till date, over 1,314 lakh tonnes of cane have been harvested with around 3 lakh tonnes, mainly in Marathwada, yet to be harvested.
He and other speakers also asked the state and central government to help mills procure mechanized harvesters.
Pawar also hailed Gadkari as the “voice of Maharashtra’s sugarcane growers at the Centre”.