The Chief Minister, YS Rajasekhara Reddy had announced an ambitious project for taking up bio-diesel plantations of pongamia and jatropha over an extent of 51 lakh acres in the rain shadow areas in the next three years at an outlay of Rs.5000 crores. The project was finalized at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister to discuss steps to safeguard the economy of rain shadow areas. It was decided to earmark a sum of Rs.1700 crores for the project in the 2006-07 budget.
A state level Bio-Diesel Board has been constituted to oversee the implementation with the Chief Secretary as Chairman. It would be a tripartite activity involving the Government, the farmer and non governmental agencies with the AP Academy of Rural Development acting as nodal agency.
The Chief Minister said that sixty per cent of the funds required for the project would come from the National Employment Guarantee Scheme, the watershed programme and the Indira Prabha programme and the rest from banks.
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