No separate environmental clearance required to produce additional ethanol from B-heavy molasses

Giving further benefits to farmers and sugar industry, the Centre has declared that no separate environmental clearance is required to produce additional ethanol from B-heavy molasses as it does not contribute to the pollution load.

The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar announced this on Tuesday.

It has been clarified that all such proposals intended to undertake additional production of ethanol from B-heavy Molasses, sugar cane juice, sugar syrup or sugar, may be considered under the provisions of 7 (ii) (a) of EIA Notification, 2006 by the concerned Expert Appraisal Committee for grant of environmental clearance.

With various incentives provided by the centre, sugar mills are expected to undertake production of ethanol from B-heavy Molasses and other by-products or products, resulting in incidental increase in the production of ethanol without any increase in the total pollution load in the existing distilleries or sugar mills to which environmental clearance have already been granted.

To obviate the need for undertaking fresh Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or public consultation in all such cases of increase in production capacity, the Government has given a clarification relating to issuance of environmental clearance in order to facilitate the sugar mills to undertake additional production of ethanol from B-heavy Molasses in place of using C-heavy Molasses without any increase in the total pollution load.

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