Waste-to-wealth: PM Modi will open Bio-CNG Gobar-Dhan plant in Indore tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a municipal solid waste based Gobar-Dhan plant in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday which will produce compressed natural gas (CNG) and compost fertilizer as per the government’s aim of creating garbage-free cities by converting waste-to-wealth.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a municipal solid waste based Gobar-Dhan plant in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday which will produce compressed natural gas (CNG) and compost fertilizer as per the government’s aim of creating garbage-free cities by converting waste-to-wealth. Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said the Gobar Dhan plant, which uses cow and buffalo dung as raw material to produce bio-CNG was based on the principle of circular economy to recycle organic waste to generate energy.

The Indore based plant will have a capacity to treat 550 tonnes of segregated wet organic waste per day and it will produce 17,000 kilograms of CNG and 100 tonnes of organic compost per day. However, the Prime Minister will not visit the city but inaugurate the plant from New Delhi through a video link. He had recently launched the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission Urban with the overall vision of creating garbage-free cities.

Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 has been implemented under the overarching principles of generating wealth by using waste material to maximize resource recovery as part of a circular economy which relies on recycling and reuse of waste material.

Officials said that Indore bio-CNG plant is based on the zero-landfill model, whereby no rejects would be generated. “The project is expected to yield multiple environmental benefits such as reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, providing green energy along with organic compost as fertilizer,” they said.

Special Purpose Vehicle under PPP Model

The government has set up Indore Clean Energy Private Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The company has been set up as a joint venture between Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) and Indo Enviro Integrated Solutions Ltd. (IEISL), with a 100% capital investment of ₹150 crores by IEISL.

Indore Municipal Corporation will purchase a minimum 50% of CNG produced by the plant and in a first-of-its kind initiative. The CNG produced in the Indore bio-CNG plant will be used in running of 250 city buses. Officials said the remaining quantity of CNG will be sold in the open market and the organic compost will help replace chemical fertilisers for agricultural and horticultural purposes.

Waste-to-wealth mission

Under the waste-to-wealth mission, the government aims to achieve zero-landfill cities and zero waste nation by recycling and reusing the entire waste generated in a city. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0, several waste-to-wealth and waste recycler plants have been established in different cities such as a decentralised biomedical waste incinerator in Buxor in Bihar which was operationalised in August last year and an urban drain cleaning programme to remove floating debris in Faridabad in Faridabad near Delhi which started in February last year.