Sugarcane farming to be expanded in Bihar-Mishra

Katihar, Apr 22 (UNI) Bihar sugarcane development minister Nitish Mishra today announced promoting and expanding sugarcane farming in non-convetional areas and reiterated setting up sugarcane industry base in the state.

Mr Mishra told newspersons here that the government had decided to expand sugarcane farming in 15 lakh hectare area and disclosed that presently it was being cultivated in 2.30 lakh hectre areas.

It will increase the cultivable land for cash crops and by setting up sugar mills and other related industries it would automatically organise the labourers in the state, he said.

He said the state cabinet has accepted the proposal to set up 19 sugar mills and 10 ethnol plants in private sector for which there was a proposal for the investment of Rs 20,000 crore from the private investors.

A private company from Tamil Nadu was interested in setting up ethnol plants in the state, including one in Katihar, he added. He also said that the government was planning to generate electricity from it and hoped the related plants would generate about 500 MW of electricity everyday.

Mr Mishra said the state government had invested Rs 300 crore on nine sugar mills functioning in the state out of which eight had registered growth in its last year's production. There was a proposal for further investment of Rs 750 crore on it.

UNI