The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday gave in-principle approval for setting up of a Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) Plant by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) at the now closed Cooperative Sugar Mills at Rakhra, Patiala.
The plant, to be developed in collaboration with Sugarfed, will help reduce stubble burning through use of paddy straw for bio-gas generation and will also nurture soil fertility through organic manure production.
The Cabinet also authorised the Cooperation Minister to settle all terms & conditions, including that of Land Lease Agreement in respect of 25 acres or more area of the closed sugar mill, to be provided to IOCL for setting up the CBG Plant. The Minister has been authorised to decide on the lease terms and conditions with the approval of the chief minister.
According to a spokesperson, the upcoming Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plant, which will create direct and indirect employment opportunities, will have capacity of 30 ton CBG production, with daily feedstock capacity of approximately 300 tons of paddy straw, per day. It would also generate organic manure to the tune of approximately 75,000 tons per annum.
Moreover, Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) being an environment-friendly fuel with the potential to reduce GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) emissions by 98%, the plant would help in minimising dependency on fossil fuels. Apart from these, it would also provide additional income or revenue to state government through GST on sale of CBG produced from the proposed plant.
