Sarma bats for increased use of green fuel

The Assam government has been encouraging maximum use of green fuel to reduce environmental damage, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

He was speaking during the signing of an MoU between Punjab National Bank and the Assam Bio Refinery — under which it will provide loans to farmers and purchase bamboo to produce bio-ethanol, an official release said.

Terming the agreement as a "good beginning", he said on Saturday that it will encourage and empower the farmers to cultivate bamboo and help in producing green energy.

Assam's Ethanol Production Promotion Policy, which was approved by the state cabinet on August 4, seeks to incentivise production of ethanol from all permitted feedstock, the release said. Assam is the second state in the country to have introduced such a policy.

The Assam Bio Refinery Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company between Numaligarh Refinery Ltd and two Finnish companies - Fortum and Chempolis, is developing India's first bio-refinery to produce cellulosic ethanol from bamboo biomass, it said.