The Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has decided to set up a grain based ethanol plant here in the Una district with a capacity of 125 KL per day, informed Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday.
The state government would provide about 70 acres of land for setting up this plant and rail-fed POL terminal of higher capacity.
Major raw materials for producing ethanol like rice and maize would be procured from Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, and Una districts besides Hoshiarpur and Rupnagar districts of neighbouring State Punjab.
The Chief Minister said that these projects would be set up at a cost of Rs 400 crore and would provide direct and indirect employment to about 300 persons. Besides, it would also accelerate the pace of development in the State and earn annual revenue of Rs 20 to Rs 25 crore to the State exchequer in the form of SGST.
During his recent visit to New Delhi, he had taken up the issue with the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to set up an ethanol plant through Hindustan Petroleum in the State.
The ethanol plant produces ethanol from grains for mixing the same in petrol and diesel which in turn will help in reducing pollution due to vehicular emissions in the State. This will also help in protecting the environment in the State, he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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