Rs 4,000 crore bamboo project planned for Maharashtra

Maharashtra is set to roll out an ambitious Rs 4,000-crore project to boost bamboo cultivation and establish bamboo-based industries over the next seven years, with funding support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The initiative is expected to not only transform the state’s rural economy but also drive sustainability and innovation in energy production.

Leading the mission is Pasha Patel, Chairman of the State Agriculture Price Commission and head of the Chief Minister’s Task Force on Environment and Sustainability. Patel is advocating large-scale bamboo plantation across the state as part of a green economic vision.

Praveen Pardeshi, CEO of the Maharashtra Institute of Transformation (MITRA) and Chief Economic Advisor to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, revealed that Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) will soon be signed with farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) at a Mumbai conference coinciding with International Bamboo Day.

Highlighting the growing demand for bamboo under the state’s biomass policy, Pardeshi stressed that farmers must focus on processing bamboo into torrefied and pellet forms instead of selling it raw, to maximize returns. He added that bamboo has the potential to produce energy, ethanol, methanol, and other value-added products—creating what he called “a new economy for Maharashtra.”

To ensure assured markets, the project will establish buyback arrangements with industries, giving farmers confidence in long-term returns. FPOs have been urged to collaborate with large landholders to scale cultivation. Dr. Hemant Vasekar, CEO of the SMART project, confirmed that robust support networks would be in place to facilitate cultivation and processing.

The initiative also aligns with the central government’s push for biofuels. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has emphasized that India’s bamboo economy could eventually cross Rs 1 lakh crore. Meanwhile, other states are already making strides. In Assam, Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Assam Bio Ethanol Private Limited (ABEPL) have achieved a breakthrough by successfully producing 99.7% purified ethanol from bamboo biomass at Numaligarh—the country’s first commercial 2G bioethanol plant.

By combining cultivation, innovation, and industrial scale, Maharashtra’s bamboo mission could set a national benchmark for sustainable growth.