IndianOil seeks 30,000 hectares in Madhya Pradesh for jatropha
New Delhi   27-Aug-2007
IndianOil has applied for 30,000 hectares of non-forest wasteland in Madhya Pradesh for jatropha plantation and is also in the process of identifying land in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. " IndianOil is in the process of identifying suitable land dusters for developing jatropha plantation in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel infonned the Lok Sabha in a written reply. Patel said the state-run refiner has applied for 30,000 hectares in Madhya Pradesh, The petroleum ministry had announced a bio-diesel purchase policy in October 2005 to encourage production of the fuel in the country The policy has identified 20 purchase centers of the public sector oil marketing companies from where they can purchase bio-diesel. The government initially fixed the purchase price for bio-diesel at Rs 25 a litre, which was later raised to Rs 26.50. At 1:14PM, IndianOil shares were trading at Rs 373.65 on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.6 per cent from the previous close.