New Delhi: Four states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, are way ahead of other states in terms of installation of small biogas plants to produce electricity from bio-waste. These four states account for nearly seventy percent of all biogas plants established in the country during the last three years, as per the latest data shared by the government in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Maharashtra accounts for nearly 30% biogas plants
Maharashtra, which is one of the most industrialized and prosperous states in the country with a well-developed agricultural base as well, accounts for nearly one-in-three biogas plants set up in the country during April 2018 to March 2021 (FY 2018-19 to FY 2020-21). As per the latest data given by RK Singh, the minister of new and renewable energy, in the Rajya Sabha, a total of 23,260 small biogas plants were set up in Maharashtra in the last three financial years.
Maharashtra is followed by Karnataka where 15,283 small biogas plants have been established during this period. Karnataka is followed by Madhya Pradesh (8,440) and Andhra Pradesh (7,311 plants). The border state of Punjab, which is called the food bowl of India, has installed 5,682 small biogas plants during this period. Punjab is followed by Chhattisgarh (4,252 plants).
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However, Punjab’s neighbouring state Haryana, which is another important foodgrain producing state, is lagging behind in terms of setting up biogas plants with just 1,741 biogas plants set up during this period.
The hill state of Uttarakhand also stands out in terms of its performance as 2,277 biogas plants were set up in the state during the last three years. However, its larger neighbor, Uttar Pradesh, which is the country’s most populous state, lags way behind its smaller neighbor with just 953 biogas plants established during this period.
In the case of other large states, West Bengal stands out due to its poor performance as just 316 biogas plants were set up in the state during this period. While Kerala established 2,513 biogas plants, Tamil Nadu (1,133), Rajasthan (1,024), Assam (991) and Gujarat (841).
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Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand lag behind
However, four other major states such as Bihar (198), Telangana (136), Odisha (264), and Jharkhand (96) performed poorly on this account. On the other hand, smaller states from the North East, such as Meghalaya (497) and Mizoram (401), performed well by setting up more biogas plants. As for other states, Arunachal Pradesh established 69 biogas plants, Goa (8), Himachal Pradesh (73), Jammu & Kashmir (6), and Tripura established 76 bio-gas plants.
The Union government released a total subsidy of more than Rs 105 crore to states during the last three years, Rs 43.072 crore in 2018-19, Rs 33.244 crore in 2019-20, and Rs 29.19 crore in FY 2020-21, respectively. The Centre has carried out an independent evaluation study to assess the functionality of installed small biogas plants under the New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme (NNBOMP) during the period of three years form 2017-18 to 2019-20. As per the study, 96% of the biogas plants were found to be functional in the country.
