Indian Express
Lucknow Newsline
18th August 2005
MIDWEEK DIALOGUE: Dr H M Behl
‘Prez is a philosopher ... there are practical problems’
Energy security by 2020, energy independence by 2030 — the country’s
President has set ambitious goals in his Independence Day speech. But will
the country be able to achieve this? Our correspondent catches up with Dr H
M Behl, senior scientist at NBRI and a research veteran on biomass
applications. Behl has also worked extensively on the cultivation and use of
solid and liquid bio-fuel during his 18-year stint at the Institute
Sreejiraj Eluvangal <
http://www.expressindia.com/about/feedback.html>
Lucknow, August 17: According to President APJ Abdul Kalam, bio-fuel will be
one of the biggest contributors to India’s eventual energy independence by
2030. He sees a potential of 60 million tonnes- roughly equal to the total
consumption of diesel in the country today. As someone who has worked in
this field for more than two decades, how far can this potential be
converted into actual realisation?
The current target according to the Euro III norms, is to have at least 5%
of our diesel requirements met by diesel produced from plants in the next
seven years. I think if we can achieve it even in the next 10 years, it is a
big thing. The President is a philosopher, he sets targets, and we should
try to follow them, but there always will be practical problems.
Such as...?
For instance, on paper there is thousands of hectares of land that can be
used to produce bio-fuel, however on ground the situation paints a different
picture. All that land, the so-called wasteland, is actually with someone.
It is not just lying there waiting for us to plant bio-fuel plants.
Sometimes it is under the custody of the local panchayats where bigwigs may
use it as more less their private property and may not be interested in
giving it up to be used to plant bio-fuel plants. Or it may actually be with
the Forest Department who may have included it under the ‘scheduled’
category where the law bans the plantation of foreign or exotic species of
plants. And if it is not with either of these, it may have been fenced off
by someone else. In all these cases, while the potential is there, it is
difficult to realize it on the ground.
So the land is there, but still is not there...
As long as there is no clear policy from the government...or time bound
plans from the Planning Commission like, we should have 5% of our diesel
from plants by 2012, targets will remain targets. We need the Centre and the
state governments to come forward with concrete targets.
So the government should get its act together...
Not just the government. These things can never be a success, if you leave
it only to the government. There has to be awareness among the farmers and
the entepreneurs. We need self-help groups to spread the awareness and act
as a link between the entrepreneur and the farmer. The sheer numbers makes
it impossible to deal with the farmers directly, whether in educating them
on the benefits and methods of bio-fuel cultivation or in extending
expertise and finance. Once we have these groups or cooperatives, biofuel
cultivation can become a movement, and subsequently a success.
But things are moving... in other states?
Indeed, wherever private entrepreneurs have come forward, with the
willingness to take the risk. Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Gujarat, Maharashtra. These are path-blazers... the groups are there, the
private companies are there and the governmental co-ordination is also
there.
You have also worked extensively on solid bio-fuel... How much of a
contribution do you see solid bio-fuel making to the achievement of energy
independence?
Instead of independence, let me use the term ‘sustainability’- in the
exploitation of nature to meet our energy needs. We cannot just keep taking
out fuel from the ground, burning it and dissipating it all over the
environment. Anything we take from the ground, we need to put it back.
And that is where fuel-wood cultivation is going to play a great role?
Exactly! When I started my work on biomass cultivation in 1982, nobody
cared. People used to say the poor in our country have to walk miles to
fetch fuel wood, but they only paid lip-service. The actual interest is very
recent, say in the last five years, thanks to incentives like the five-year
tax holidays for using renewable energy sources etc.
Today I am a consultant to large cement companies and other units whose
energy needs are too big to be met by power companies.
So where is India’s energy independence going to come from- bio-diesel,
solid biomass or non-carbon based technologies like solar and wind power?
I think our energy-sufficiency is going to come from two sources- Nuclear
and Biomass because both solar and wind have their own limitations, cost in
case of the former and location in case of the latter.
So in the next 25 years...?
That depends on how fast the state governments wake up, how soon we can have
a clear, coordinated policy on sustainable energy and how easily the
farmer-entrepreneur alliance takes shape.