Raipur, August 27:

Indian Railways and Hindustan Petroleum have placed orders for jatropha-based bio-diesel from Chhattisgarh, even offering to make payment in advance. With Chhattisgarh ready to make its first ever 3,000-litre per day jatropha-based bio-diesel plant operational within 15 days on the outskirts of the state capital Raipur, private and public sector companies have started rushing in with order proposals. “Indian Railways and Hindustan Petroleum, besides several other private business houses, have been keen to make advance payments to book orders for bio-diesel purchase for production in state will begin from early next mo-nth,” the latest issue of Jan Man magazine

reported, “With Chhattisgarh set to be the cou-ntry’s top bio-diesel producer, the companies are keen to have early tie-ups with the government for bio-diesel purchase.” It reported that the state would be cultivating 80 million jatropha saplings this year on 32,000 hectares of land. Chhattisgarh has announced it will become bio-fuel self-reliant by 2015 and has been working on an action plan to produce 1.5 million tonnes of jatropha seeds by 2007 for achieving an 500,000 tonne target.