Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has urged the sugar mills to divert surplus sugar to blend in B heavy molasses and produce ethanol which will help the industry during the financial crisis.
Speaking in an online programme organised to inaugurate a medical oxygen plant at Dharashiv Sugar Mills in Osmanabad district, he said “The huge stock of sugar piled in warehouses of sugar mills in Maharashtra can be utilized in this way. I have recently submitted a proposal to the Centre in this regard and the Maharashtra government can approach the Centre with a similar demand.”
He said that about 15-20 per cent sugar could be added to B heavy molasses to produce ethanol. “The rate for ethanol produced using sugarcane juice is about ₹60 per litre. If the Petroleum Ministry gives the same rate to ethanol produced by adding sugar to B heavy molasses, about 25 lakh tonnes sugar in Maharashtra could be used for the purpose,” said Gadkari.
