NEW DELHI, April 16 -- Protests are rippling across rural India against proposed ethanol plants that could ease the country's dependence on oil and gas ‌imports, but many in the countryside worry the sites put pressure on their water supply, land and health.

India, which imports 80 per cent of its oil and gas, has made ethanol central to its clean energy plans and, as war in the Middle East impacts the price and supply of oil, its energy security.

Delhi increased the ethanol in petrol from 1 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent last year. But most ethanol is made from maize and sugarcane, crops requiring ‌significant amounts of land and water and that has triggered resistance in several rural regions.

One example is the small to...