Laying the foundation stone of the project, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said the state government would soon frame a bio-diesel policy to encourage such projects.
He said the three districts identified for jathropa cultivation were Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore. The bio-diesel project would be set up by Emami Biotech Pvt Ltd.
Joint chairman of Emami group of companies R S Agarwal said initially Emami Biotech would import crude farm oil and other ingredients for production of bio-diesel from Malaysia and Indonesia.
"Efforts are being made to ensure availability of jatropa oil from the fourth year of plant operation," Agarwal said.
Commercial production at the plant would start from December 2007 and initial capacity would be one lakh tonne per annum, he said. Cultivation of jatropa would create employment opportunities for two lakh people, company sources said.
