PrashantNews
After bio-energy projects using piruls failed to make any headway, the Uttarakhand government has now roped in Indian Oil to study the possibilities of producing compressed bio-gas (CBG) from pine needles which are seen as a major cause for the spread of forest fires.
Himachal Pradesh is also contemplating to produce CBG from pine needles having properties similar to CNG. In Punjab, a pilot project has started to produce CBG using paddy stubble.
In view of working seriously on the permanent solution of forest fire in Uttarakhand and the possibilities of production of CBG (Compressed Bio Gas) from pine leaves (Pirul), Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, has asked Indian Oil to study the possibilities of using Pirul as feed stock in CBG production in the state.
In a meeting held in secretariat, the Chief Secretary asked the Indian Oil officials to constitute their own internal committee and submit a detailed feasibility report to the government soon. In this regard, she has directed to identify one possible place each in Garhwal and Kumaon to run the pilot project.
According to Indian Oil, after the possibility of collecting about 40 percent of the total availability of Pirul in Uttarakhand, 60000-80000 tons of CBG can be expected per year. The gross availability of Pirul in the state is 1.3 to 2.4 MMT per year. Pine forests are spread over 400000 hectares in the state. Nearly 2-3 tons of Pirul are available per hectare in the state, according to an official estimate.
Chief Secretary Raturi has directed various departments like Forest, Energy, Animal Husbandry and Rural Development to actively work with Indian Oil on this project.
Principal Secretary Mr. R.K. Sudhanshu, Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, Dilip Jawalkar along with officials of Forest, Planning, Finance, Energy Department and Indian Oil were present in the meeting.
Bio-energy projects set up by the state government to use the vast quantities of piruls for generating electricity have not yielded desirable results so far, official sources said.