Sambalpur: An ethanol bio refinery plant will be set up at Deogan under Maneswar tehsil in Sambalpur district. However, the project faced hurdles in the beginning as locals have opposed it. Its Delhi-based promoter has applied at Maneswar tehsil for land acquisition, a report said.
Notably, a similar plant has been proposed at Balusingha under Bhatli tehsil in Bargarh district.
According to the report, a private company based in Delhi has proposed the plant, which will manufacture bio fuel from paddy straw. A patch of 40 acres of land has been identified. The company has, meanwhile, applied at the tehsil for land measurement and acquisition. The process has slowed down due to Covid-19 situation.
After people came to know about the development in the project, they expressed their displeasure and warned of an agitation.
Local farmers accused the company of setting its eyes on agriculture land. “Most people in the region depend on farming. Agriculture will be finished in the area where the refinery is proposed. People will be at the receiving end of the pollution, leading to various diseases in the region,” the locals lamented.
They said the administration is helping the company set up the plant, but the former will not pay heed when people will be suffering due to pollution.
They urged the tehsil administration to refrain from helping the company in the matter and demanded that the plant be scrapped.
When contacted, Maneswar tehsildar Birasen Behera said that the company has identified the land and planned to buy it.
“The company has applied at the tehsil office for the land measurement, but it has not taken any final decision about the project,” he added.
It is said that huge quantities of paddy straw are burned in the district after harvest of the crops. It causes severe air pollution. The government lays stress on making use of paddy straw for preparing bio fuel which will be mixed with petrol.
PNN
