National Green Tribunal shuts 33 sugar mills for failure to have permit

In India, 33 of 35 sugar mills producing ethanol don’t have licenses for storing explosives, which the National Green Tribunal used as just cause to have them shut down ethanol production immediately following a complaint by an NGO who pointed out the lack of permits. The NGO also said the lack of safety procedures at the facilities were a major risk. As India’s largest sugar producing country, if ethanol production is halted then the country will have a very hard time trying to achieve its 10% blending mandate.