Authorities have asked Chandigarh-based Dune Ethanol Pvt Ltd to stop work on a proposed ethanol factory in Rathikheda village of Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district.
Police and administrative officials took the decision on the evening of December 12, 2025, following a violent farmers’ protest two days earlier. Further action would be taken only after a thorough investigation of the apprehensions expressed by farmers.
On December 10, thousands of farmers from dozens of villages gathered for a Maha Panchayat outside the sub divisional magistrate’s office in Tibbi tehsil, where Rathikheda village is located.
Speakers repeatedly emphasised that despite a year-and-a half of peaceful protests, neither the government nor the company had listened to the farmers.
Following the Maha Panchayat, around 5,000 farmers, accompanied by a convoy of tractors, headed towards the factory site at 4 pm. Upon arrival, the farmers began pushing the boundary wall ringing the construction site with their tractors, causing it to collapse.
The police used tear gas, batons, and plastic bullets to stop the protestors but were forced to retreat due to the massive crowd. Sixteen vehicles were subsequently vandalised and set on fire. Dozens of farmers and police personnel were injured in the clashes.
Local farmers began protests on August 12, 2024, against the factory being built on the proposed site.
On the morning of November 19, the administration, with the help of the police, dispersed them. A dozen farmers were arrested. Simultaneously, the company began constructing the boundary wall.
Following this, farmers launched a campaign from village to village and announced a Maha Panchayat in Tibbi.
Ravindra Ranwa, an activist with the Factory Hatao Kshetra Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said, “We’ve been staging a peaceful protest for a year, but our voices have fallen on deaf ears. When the police tried to dislodge the farmers and begin factory construction, this reaction was inevitable. We will continue to protest until the factory’s approval is revoked.”
Madan Durgasar, a member of the Factory Hatao Kshetra Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said, “Our region is completely dependent on tubewell-based agriculture. After ethanol production begins, millions of litres of chemically contaminated water will be generated as residue every day, which will have to be disposed underground. This will pollute the groundwater and inevitably lead to the destruction of agriculture. The ash from the factory’s power plants, smoke from the chimneys, and the stench of chemicals will pose a grave threat to humans, animals, and birds. Cancer and other diseases will spread.”
Vinod Kumar, a farmer from Talwara Lake, noted that the government has claimed to be ushering in development by setting up factories. “But when the public is against such development, why is the government harping on it (development)?”
Sri Ganganagar Member of Parliament (MP) Kuldeep Indora alluded to the December 10 clash while speaking in the Lok Sabha recently and raised serious questions about the functioning of the government and administration. Indora said farmers in Rathikheda village have been peacefully protesting the project for a long time, but their concerns are being ignored.
The MP, detailing the project’s technical and environmental impacts in the lower house of Parliament, said the plant, billed as Asia’s largest ethanol project, carries significant risks. The Tibbi region of Hanumangarh relies entirely on groundwater-based agriculture. Therefore, such significant water extraction and pollution could have a devastating impact on the land, water levels, crops, and farmers’ livelihoods.
Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal alleged that the Rajasthan government, under pressure from industrialists, is trying to portray the project as ‘environment-friendly’, while the apprehensions of the local people are being continuously ignored.
Dune Ethanol Pvt Ltd purchased around 45 acres of land at Chak 5 RK Rathikhera, intending to set up a grain-based ethanol plant of 1,320 kilo litres per day capacity and a 24.5 MW power plant with an investment of Rs 450 crore.
Company representatives recently informed the district administration at a meeting that the factory will be equipped with boilers (2 x 120 TPH) and five 70-metre-high field electrostatic precipitators (ESPs). This will prevent the exhaust from these chimneys from polluting the atmosphere.
The plant requires rice and maize as raw materials and straw for burning, which will ensure a fair price for paddy farmers in the district. The plant will use more than 976,500 tons of rice and maize, and will purchase rice and maize worth Rs 2,100 crore annually. Additionally, straw worth at least Rs 10 crore will be purchased each month.
Company officials said cylindrical silos will be installed to collect the ash generated from burning fuel. Spraying water on the ash will prevent it from spreading. The ash will be used by brick kilns to make bricks, for which memorandums of understanding will be signed with brick kiln operators. Online data for pollution monitoring will be available and monitored on the pollution control board’s server.
Dune Ethanol continues to claim that the factory will operate on zero liquid discharge. Every drop of water will be reused. Contaminated water will not be discharged into the ground. To prevent air pollution, the 70-foot-tall chimney will have a five-stage electrostatic precipitator, preventing the release of toxic fumes. It will provide direct employment to a large number of people, as per the company. But these claims have failed to win the village residents’ trust.