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The Union Cabinet has approved the INR 23,731 crore GOBARdhan scheme to expand compressed biogas (CBG) production by using agricultural and municipal waste as feedstock. The initiative aims to increase domestic CBG production nearly ten-fold, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and create opportunities for farmers, cooperatives, MSMEs, women entrepreneurs and rural businesses. The Cabinet has also cleared a 135.871-km, four-lane access-controlled Guwahati-Tezpur corridor on NH-15 in Assam at a cost of INR 8,970.20 crore. The highway is expected to improve connectivity, road safety and movement between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
The Union Cabinet has approved the GOBARdhan scheme with an outlay of INR 23,731 crore, giving a fresh push to compressed biogas production from agricultural and municipal waste. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the initiative would support clean energy, rural economic activity and a more predictable environment for investment and innovation.
The scheme aims to increase domestic CBG production by nearly ten times. It is expected to use waste such as cattle dung, crop residue and other organic waste as feedstock for producing biogas and CBG. The government has positioned the programme as part of its efforts to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels while improving waste management.
The initiative is also expected to support farmers, cooperatives, micro, small and medium enterprises, women entrepreneurs and rural enterprises. Apart from energy production, CBG projects can create demand for waste collection, plant operations and related services in rural areas.
GOBARdhan was launched in 2018 under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) as an initiative to convert biodegradable waste into biogas, CBG and organic manure. The government has since expanded the programme through a multi-ministerial approach. A Unified GOBARdhan Portal was introduced in 2023 to streamline registration of biogas and CBG plants across the country.
Government data released earlier this year showed that 979 biogas plants were operational across 51.4% of India's districts. The government has also introduced measures to support the wider CBG ecosystem, including incentives for organic fertilisers produced by GOBARdhan and CBG plants.
Under the Market Development Assistance scheme, financial support of INR 1,500 per metric tonne is available for fermented organic manure, liquid fermented organic manure and phosphate-rich organic manure produced at eligible GOBARdhan and CBG plants. The measure is intended to create an additional outlet for the by-products generated by these facilities.
The government has also highlighted the potential of agricultural waste as an energy resource. India generates an estimated 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste annually, including crop residues, husk, straw and food-processing by-products. A larger CBG network could therefore provide an additional use for some of this waste while supporting local waste-management systems.
Alongside the GOBARdhan approval, the Cabinet has cleared the development of a 135.871-km, four-lane access-controlled Guwahati-Tezpur corridor on NH-15 in Assam at an estimated cost of INR 8,970.20 crore. The project will include bypasses at various locations and is aimed at reducing travel time, improving road safety and easing congestion.
The corridor will also have an emergency landing facility at Tezpur. Its infrastructure will include bridges, flyovers, underpasses and service roads. The project is expected to improve road connectivity across Assam and strengthen links towards Arunachal Pradesh.
The highway project forms part of the wider effort to improve road infrastructure and regional connectivity in the Northeast. The government has been pursuing several major road projects in Assam, including the planned Gohpur-Numaligarh four-lane access-controlled greenfield corridor on NH-15, which was approved earlier this year.
Together, the two Cabinet decisions cover both energy and transport infrastructure. While the GOBARdhan scheme focuses on building a larger domestic CBG ecosystem around organic waste, the Guwahati-Tezpur corridor addresses road capacity, safety and regional movement. Their implementation will determine how quickly the intended benefits reach rural enterprises, waste-management systems and users of the Northeast's road network.
Source PTI
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