Internet Shutdown, 70 Villagers Arrested, 500 Officers Deployed—Why are Residents Protesting an Ethanol Plant in Rajasthan?

Key Points

Tibbi region in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district has seen mass police deployment and an internet shutdown recently, as farmers and villagers continue to protest against the construction of an ethanol factory in the area.

On 18 November 2025, a two-day internet shutdown was imposed in Rathi Khera village and the surrounding area. This followed the deployment of over 500 police and defence personnel. Residents of Hanumangarh have been protesting for over 15 months against the construction of an ethanol factory in the region. Demonstrations picked up recently as construction was finally slated to begin.

The protest came to a boil when twelve farmers were arrested, leading to the shutdown and a ban on public congregation. In response, a large-scale demonstration was held outside the Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office, led by farmer leaders and Sangria MLA Abhimanyu Poonia. 70 villagers offered themselves up to the police later in the day but were soon released.

That evening, farmer leaders sat down with police and administrative officials to negotiate the release of all detainees and a halt to the construction, but to no avail. Farmers continued to protest, while construction commenced under heavy police deployment.

The police claimed that the situation was peaceful, that some bad actors were spreading rumours about the plant to cause unrest, and that cases registered were either based on old charges or for damage caused to police barricades.

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Since then, villagers have continued to gather and further their protest. According to Dainik Bhaskar, a meeting was held at the Sri Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Tibbi on 23 November 2025, under the banner of 'Factory Hatao, Kshetra Bachao’ Sangharsh Samiti. A resolution was passed to organise a Mahapanchayat on 10 December 2025 in protest of the construction.

Farmers argue that the plant will lead to immense air and water pollution in the area, which will affect the health of residents and crops alike. They further state that the plant, which will draw water through a dedicated borewell, will drain groundwater from the area and poison the soil. This will have a direct impact on their livelihoods, they say.

The ethanol plant in question is being constructed by Dune Ethanol Pvt. Ltd. The plant was commissioned under the ‘Rising Rajasthan’ in 2020, with an investment of ₹450 crore. It has a proposed capacity of 1320 kilo litres per day (KLPD), making it the biggest such plant in Asia. The plant will require 6000 KLPD of fresh water to operate.

Officials from Dune Ethanol dismissed the villagers’ concern of pollution, stating that the plant plans to use a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) water treatment system; This means that no wastewater will be produced, rather all water will be recycled, and only solid waste will be left behind. They continued, saying that any air pollution will be released into the upper atmosphere and any ash will be used in the production of concrete, bricks and fertilizer. Finally, pollution data and CCTV footage will be sent directly to the Pollution Control Board, they said.

They also added that they plan to buy rice and maize worth ₹1000 crore from local farmers, and that the plant will generate around 5,000 jobs, though earlier they had put this number at less than 2,000.

This plant was proposed under the ethanol blended fuel policy and can be situated amidst the Centre’s larger push for ethanol production. [Rh]

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