The neera (unfermented palm sap) project of the state government will achieve a milestone on Friday as two processing plants set up by the Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation (Comfed) for the industries department will begin a trial run to produce jaggery and bottled neera.

"The trial run of neera processing plants at Biharsharif in Nalanda and Hajipur in Vaishali is beginning tomorrow (Friday). We needed at least 1,200 litres of neera at each plant to run them. It has been arranged as the palm sap season has started in Bihar," industries principal secretary S. Siddharth told The Telegraph.

Among the two plants, the one in Biharsharif will produce bottled neera, while the one in Hajipur will process palm sap into jaggery. Comfed will market both the products. Comfed sells milk and milk products under the brand Sudha.

If the trial runs at the two plants succeed, they would also be conducted at the two other neera processing plants at Barari in Bhagalpur and Khijarsarai in Gaya. Full-fledged commercial production will start at all the four plants after this.

The industries department has tasked Jeevika women self-help groups constituted under Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project to procure and supply neera to the four plants.

The neera project has been conceptualised by chief minister Nitish Kumar and his officials to ensure alternative employment to the pasis or the toddy (fermented palm sap) tapping community, which has around 40 lakh population in the state. It was needed after toddy, which is an intoxicating drink, was banned in the state after Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, came into effect.

Toddy tappers who choose to tap neera, will have to get licence for free from the excise department. After getting the licence, they can also sell neera, which is rich in vitamins and minerals, in the open market or make jaggery and sugar from it.

The licensing process is going on in full swing with over 12,000 applications already distributed among the pasis. Of these 7,000 people have filled and submitted them to the excise department.

Instructions have been issued to process licences within 10 days, while Siddharth has written to all district magistrates to ensure that a three-day training on neera tapping and precautions that should be taken to keep it unfermented and in hygienic condition must be given to those who are granted the licences.

According to a survey conducted by the agriculture department, there are around 1.3 crore palm trees, including dates and coconut trees, in the state and each tree can produce up to 10 litres of neera daily.

Most of the forms have been distributed in Nalanda, East Champaran, Samastipur, Saharsa and Banka, which together comprise over 9,000 forms. The rest are spread across the remaining 33 districts.