Solapur: The sugar mills can now set up the CNG biogas plants to increase the income and boost the government’s plan to increase the use of green fuel.
With increased sugar production, the prices of sugar are depleting due to excess sugar in the market and mills are not able to recover the production costs to sustain the business. The central government’s decision to allow sugar mills to set up CNG biogas plants will help the mills to increase their income and sustain the business. This will ultimately help in increasing income of sugarcane farmers.
This year the sugar output is likely to reach 325 lakh tonne whereas the domestic need is 265 lakh tonne. The sugar glut will pose a problem to the mills as well as cane farmers.
The government is promoting mills to increase their income through ethanol production, power generation and setting up distillery units. Now with the permission to set up biogas CNG plants the mills will get one more avenue to increase their income.
Central government is planning to invest Rs 2 lakh crore in this sector.
Sugar mills can produce CNG from press mud and the government is ready to purchase CNG at Rs 46 per kg.
Harshvardhan Patil, former cooperative minister said, “The setting up of CNG biogas plants will help sugar mills to increase their income and they would be able to pay more to the cane farmers.”
