Kumar Ankit

Jharkhand may soon turn over a new leaf in plantation, courtesy the efforts of a 24-year-old XLRI alumnus.

Pongamia (Dithodi in Hindi, Karanj in Sanskrit) — a biodiesel producing plant growing on wasteland that has solved the unemployment problems of thousands of farmers in Bihar — may soon sprout out of the state’s soil if Kumar Ankit is able to replicate his hugely successful plantation model here.

Ankit, the co-founder of Gaya-based Green Leaf Energy Solutions, and his team of three are said to have recently proposed the idea of growing the plant in Jharkhand to deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto. Sources said Mahto was very “impressed”.

“We were highly successful in Bihar, where the government lent us enormous support. We have drawn up a similar plan for Jharkhand, wherein the farmers will get a chance to plant Pongamia, rear them and then get money under MGNREGS,” Ankit said.

If the model is implemented, Green Leaf Energy Solutions will directly earn revenue from the state government by selling saplings of Pongamia at Rs 11 each. “The scheme is community based and has its own rules. If 90 per cent of saplings given to villagers survive, they get their full payment under MGNREGS. If the survival per cent is 75, then villagers get half payment and nothing if it dips below it. This way, everyone is kept interested,” he said.

Citing an example from Bihar’s success story, Ankit said that four families were given the task to take care of 200 saplings. Since MGNREGS guarantees 100 days of work but Pongamia blooms only in five years, the farmers kept earning throughout the year. He claimed that three kilos of Pongamia seeds could produce one litre biodiesel. The residue with a high content of nitrogen is used as fertiliser.

Deputy chief minister Mahto said that he had met Jain a couple of times and was looking into his proposal. “I have asked a team of officials to formulate a plan wherein the project can be implemented. The scheme was successful in Bihar. Since monsoon is here, we would like to implement it as soon as possible to reap maximum benefits,” Mahto said.