Assam’s tea gardens make room for bamboo to fuel bioethanol plant
The Hindu
Assam's tea gardens embrace bamboo cultivation to support a ₹4,930-crore bioethanol plant, aiding farmers amid challenges.
The world’s tallest grass may help some of Assam’s 803 major tea estates and 1.22 lakh registered small tea growers overcome a tough phase.
In August 2022, the government tweaked the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holding Act of 1956 to allow tea gardens to use up to 5% of their land for non-tea purposes. A few tea gardens within a 300-km radius of the world’s first commercial-scale 2G bioethanol plant using bamboo as feedstock, are using the permitted portion of their area for bamboo cultivation.
This ₹4,930-crore plant spread across 43 acres at Numaligarh, about 260 km east of Guwahati, has been established by Assam Bio Ethanol Private Limited (ABEPL), a joint venture of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), which is a Navaratna public sector undertaking, with the Finland-based Chempolis Oy and Fortum.
ABEPL experts said ethanol production is costlier in a 2G or second-generation plant than a first-generation plant, but ensures food security, is more sustainable, and leaves a lower carbon footprint. While 1G ethanol is produced from food crops using simple fermentation, 2G ethanol is derived from non-food farm waste or residue.
“We pursued the bioethanol project after research in Finland showed that freshly harvested bamboo, chipped to a specific size, can be a sustainable substitute for food crops. And we are located at the centre of a region that is the largest producer of several bamboo species,” an NRL spokesperson said.
The ABEPL streamlined the bamboo supply chain much before Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the bioethanol plant to the nation in September 2025.
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