By IANS,
Raipur : Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will pump in Rs.4 billion in Chhattisgarh during the next three years for undertaking massive jatropha plantations, a rich source of bio-fuel. The company would also set up a bio-diesel plant in the state.
The public sector company signed a tri-partite agreement in this regard Monday with the Chhattisgarh government and the state-owned Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) to form a joint venture company to undertake the project in the state.
HPCL, a Fortune 500 company, will hold 74 percent equity and CREDA will have 26 percent stake in the company.
HPCL would extract oil from the entire yield of jatropha seeds from 15,000 hectares in the plant and market it through a network of retail outlets across the state.
“Under the agreement, HPCL will take up jatropha plantation on more than 15,000 hectares of government-owned wasteland in the state,” CREDA director S.K. Shukla told reporters.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh who attended the function said: “The state will be known as a leading bio-fuel producing state during coming years.” About 400 million jatropha saplings have been planted in the state during the past four years.