Green Dilemma: Politics Impede Progress

It is really unfortunate ugly politics are raging on a green energy issue in Telangana. Even as the country is pushing for green and sustainable energy, various issues such as faulty land acquisition, absence of public hearing, tweaking of norms by some State governments are hindering sustainable development.

It cannot be stressed enough that pollution is increasing by leaps and bounds, impacting environmental and human health severely in several parts of the country. Reports of suspension of work on an ethanol factory planned at Dilawarpur in Nirmal district should cause concern to policy makers, climate activists and governments alike. Instead of helping douse the flames, the BRS party, whose government gave a go-ahead for the project, has joined the chorus for stopping the project. It is dismaying that even a public hearing was not conducted by the previous government, which would have allayed any misgivings among the public.

As a result, the public is so perturbed by rumours of huge environmental pollution that they are brooking nothing sort of the very cancellation of the project itself. Local authorities were ordered by the District Collector on Thursday to halt to the plant works. Now, the Congress government needs to take a decision whether to withdraw approvals for the project or facilitate its progress by addressing the concerns of the villagers from Gundampalli, Samundarpalli, Rathnapurkandli, and Dilawarpur, who blocked Nirmal-Bhainsa stretch of NH 61 over pollution of their fertile lands and health risks. It is a pity, they are not aware of green nature of the project or its benefits for the local economy. If any land takeover issues cropped up, they should have been resolved in right earnest. But it was not to be. It is an irony that the BRS is now demanding the project rollback. It forgets its government even allocated water from the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme for the project. It is now drawing flake for double standards.

Sugarcane juice, molasses, corn, rice, sorghum, wheat, which are rich in starch, are used to produce ethanol or ethyl alcohol. Farmers can benefit from the huge demand. Ethanol has its applications in fuel, alcoholic beverages and industrial solvents. There are allegations that while the Centre gave its nod only for a fuel ethanol plant, the BRS government okayed production of extra neutral alcohol, industrial spirit etc. It even dispensed with the need for a public hearing.

At heart of the matter is a core national issue. The Narendra Modi government in 2021 unveiled the Ethanol 20 Policy, which aims to blend 20% ethanol with petrol in the country by 2026, advancing the target year from 2030 which was fixed by the biofuel policy of 2018. The key objective is to cut dependency on imported fossil fuels and pave way for cleaner energy alternatives to reduce pollution levels. One has also to keep in mind the growing fuel imports bill for the country.

At COP26 meet in Glasgow in 2021, PM Modi said in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, India would raise non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, with 50

per cent of its energy demand met by renewables. To meet the 20 per cent ethanol blending goal by 2025, India needs to produce about 1,700 crore liters by 2025. The current output is at around 1,300 crore liters.

A survey by Yale University, released in May this year, shows that over 90% Indians want policies to address green issues and climate action. However, political machinations to milk any project for their selfish ends are a major hindrance. Ugly politics come into play and rural people’s apprehensions are stoked to boil over into protests. Therein lies India’s major green dilemma.