Prosopis juliflora has displaced native grasses for thousands of kilometers in Kutch. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
A plant that has been listed among the “world’s top 100 invasive species” and threatened biodiversity in Kutch’s Banni grasslands for decades, may soon be harnessed to produce green methanol and fuel for ocean-going ships.
A shrub of Mexican origin called Prosopis juliflora, known regionally as gando baval, vilayati keekar in North India and velikathan in Tamil, has displaced native grasses for thousands of kilometers in Kutch. The plant was first introduced by the British in the 1920s to “green” Delhi and by the Gujarat Forest Department in 1961 to stop the expanding salt desert in the Rann. This weed is to become the raw material for India’s first green methanol plant to power ocean-going ships.
Published – 30 Apr 2026 23:24 IST
