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Our Bureau

Hyderabad, March 30

In a move that will boost the biodiesl industry in the State, Andhra Pradesh will raise pongamia plantations in over 8,800 hectares, spreading across 16 districts. The total cost for the project was estimated at Rs 23.41 crore.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) had sanctioned the project under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) XIII to the State, according to a release. Out of the total outlay, Rs 22.4 crore would be the loan component from Nabard and Rs 1.17 crore would be the Government share. The Government of Andhra Pradesh was yet to grant administrative approval for the project, according to a release.

However, Rs 20 crore had been released during the year 2007-08 under the previous RIDF biodiesel project and an expenditure of Rs 13.28 crore had been incurred for raising bio-diesel plantations.

The tree-borne oilseeds have promising potential to supplement vegetable oil supply in the country. These oil seeds grow in poor soils under low rainfall conditions without competing with annual food crops, thus filling gaps in the ecological niche.

The promotion and development of such crops would also help meeting the societal needs of eco-conservation, expansion of rural industries, rural employment generation and also supplement the supply of alternate fuel to petro-diesel.

Another related benefit would be conservation of foreign exchange reserves, the released added.

More Stories on : Plantations | Non-conventional Energy | Andhra Pradesh

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