- Chhattisgarh, broadly generally known as the ‘rice bowl of India’ has acquired authorities approval for a number of ethanol crops.
- The choice nevertheless, has triggered protests in a number of proposed places, the place native communities have voiced considerations over potential environmental air pollution.
- Agriculture and meals safety consultants have additionally cautioned that diverting meals grains for gasoline manufacturing might jeopardise the nation’s long-term meals safety.
Because the conversations round ethanol mixing with petrol intensifies, Kumari Sahu reacts sharply every time she hears the phrase ‘ethanol.’ Her worries should not about car mileage however concerning the well being of her household and the impression on the crops she grows.
Sahu resides in Patharra, a village within the Bemetara district of Chhattisgarh, the place an ethanol plant commenced operations in 2024. She claims that the black, foul-smelling wastewater discharged from the plant has destroyed a number of of her paddy fields.
“I’ve three and a half acres of land. That’s what sustains my livelihood. However my paddy crop has fully failed,” she informed Mongabay India. The issues prolong past crop loss. “Due to the fixed stench, it’s tough to search out labourers and even work in my very own fields. Nobody desires to step in due to the insufferable odor from the distillery.”
Her considerations are echoed throughout Patharra, a village of about 250 households. Residents say the stench has made life insufferable. At any time of day or evening, a robust odor spreads by means of the village, forcing individuals to cowl their faces with material.
Village residents concern that the wastewater discharged by the plant will ultimately contaminate the groundwater. They’ve been protesting for over 10 months in lots of revolutionary methods. In October 2024, males shaved their heads. They’ve petitioned authorities, from the tehsildar to the Chief Minister, however declare their complaints are being ignored.
Chandan Sahu, a youth from the village, mentioned, “Aged individuals and ladies who have been peacefully protesting have been booked for inflicting public unrest and despatched to jail. Nobody is listening to us. I don’t understand how we’re presupposed to reside with this stench and polluted water. If issues proceed like this, we’ll be pressured to desert our village sometime.” In January 2025, police filed two separate FIRs towards about 40 individuals from the village, together with girls.
Patharra isn’t the one village dealing with such issues. In Bemetara alone, 11 ethanol distilleries are deliberate, and protests are going down in a number of places.
In neighbouring Ranka village, the panchayat sarpanch, Ghanaram Nishad, has lengthy been opposing an ethanol distillery being constructed on 35 acres. “Now we have already seen the situation of Patharra. We aren’t towards ethanol distilleries. But when such a facility is constructed on agricultural land and close to a village, it’ll convey catastrophe. The air pollution has made life depressing for the individuals of Patharra. We gained’t permit our village to turn out to be the subsequent Patharra,” he mentioned.
Gautam Bandopadhyay, convener of the Nadi Ghati Morcha and a well known social activist, acknowledged that a lot of the land acquired for these crops consists of village commons, reminiscent of pastures, cremation grounds, and cowsheds, thereby undermining the agricultural economic system. Regardless of opposition from village residents and environmentalists, no thorough scientific assessment has been carried out, he added.
The federal government, nevertheless, defends the business. In first week of August, when farmers from Kondagaon raised considerations about air pollution and crop harm, Agriculture Minister Ramvichar Netam who visited the village mentioned, “We’ll develop a plan to compensate for any losses. The unit hasn’t even absolutely began but; let it perform. This can be a new initiative for the state. It’s a large alternative for the farmers of this district, and never simply this district, however for the entire state.”
Ethanol push in Chhattisgarh
Within the district of Kabirdham, an ethanol distillery was arrange in September 2023 below a public–personal partnership at a price of ₹1.41 billion. The molasses-based plant, with a capability of 80,000 litres per day, shut down inside a 12 months due to a scarcity of uncooked materials.
Though this unit was based mostly on sugarcane, it illustrates the challenges forward. The state authorities is aggressively pursuing ethanol manufacturing. In 2024, it knowledgeable the meeting that it had signed MoUs for 34 new ethanol distilleries throughout Chhattisgarh. A central authorities doc notes that 42 crops have been authorized within the state, of which majority are grain-based. The federal government states that manufacturing has already commenced at 9 crops.
Nonetheless, consultants argue that in a state like Chhattisgarh, broadly generally known as the rice bowl of India, organising quite a few ethanol crops might convey a number of problems. Bandopadhyay mentioned that with many crops based mostly on paddy and straw, meals safety may be threatened as paddy cultivation is already below stress nationwide.
For a number of years now, the Chhattisgarh authorities has been providing an extra bonus over the Minimal Help Worth (MSP) introduced by the central authorities for the procurement of paddy. Whereas the central authorities has set the MSP at ₹2,183 per quintal for widespread paddy and ₹2,203 per quintal for A-grade paddy, the Chhattisgarh authorities procures paddy from farmers on the charge of ₹3,100 per quintal.
This extra value for paddy has already severely impacted crop diversification within the state. Yr after 12 months, farmers in Chhattisgarh are being incentivised to develop extra paddy. The tempo of paddy manufacturing might be understood from a single statistic: in 2009–10, paddy manufacturing within the state stood at 4.11 million tonnes, which greater than doubled to 10.5 million tonnes by 2022–23.
A dangerous trade-off
Meals and agriculture coverage knowledgeable Devinder Sharma acknowledged that diverting meals grains into ethanol for gasoline is a dreadful concept for a rustic that most likely has the one of many largest populations of hungry individuals on the earth. “At a time when a big inhabitants is unable to afford meals for a day, it’s slightly essential to feed people; automobiles can wait.”
Sharma identified that producing one kilogram of paddy in Chhattisgarh requires almost 3,000 litres of water. Farmers are sometimes blamed for overusing water, however the crop itself is very water-intensive. Punjab confronted an identical trajectory — paddy there wants round 5,000 litres per kg, and the state is now within the grip of a groundwater disaster, with many blocks declared “crimson zones”. He warned that Chhattisgarh might face the identical destiny, threatening each farming and consuming water.
“The identical considerations apply to ethanol,” Sharma added. “When its sick results will come to the fore, then I need to know who will take accountability for it. Will any minister or scientist be held accountable? Until accountability is mounted, the sample will repeat, income will go to some, whereas blame will fall on others. The federal government should additionally reply a vital query, the place will hundreds of thousands litres of water come from to make ethanol?,” he additional provides.
Different consultants share related considerations. They argue that even the damaged or lower-quality rice being diverted to ethanol is edible and is often utilized in mid-day meals, ration schemes, or exports.
Farmer chief Nand Kashyap of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha mentioned, “When India nonetheless ranks low on the International Starvation Index, turning meals into gasoline may very well be a grave moral and strategic error. Internationally, we’re seeing that as ethanol manufacturing more and more depends on meals grains, farmers are starting to shift in direction of crops that fetch higher costs as gasoline, slightly than meals. This may result in unstable market charges, value distortion in mandis, and meals inflation.”
Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, added that incentivising paddy for ethanol might show ecologically disastrous. “When the nation is struggling to feed its individuals, burning meals for gasoline isn’t a sustainable path. States like Chhattisgarh should determine: ought to we sacrifice meals safety and groundwater for the sake of assembly local weather targets? And has ‘improvement’ now turn out to be synonymous with industrial growth, even when it crushes agriculture and farmers beneath it?”
Learn extra: Chhattisgarh tribal physique says consent for mining in Hasdeo Arand was solid
Banner picture: Kumari Sahu from Patharra, a village in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district shares considerations concerning the ethanol plant. Picture by Ayushi Sharma/Mongabay.
