Lok Sabha Question No. 39 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-20
Subject: GOBARdhan Scheme
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Rajveer (Raju Bhaiya) Singh, Bhola Singh, Vinod Kumar Sonkar, Raja Amareshwara Naik, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Jayanta Kumar Roy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.39 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2023

## GOBARdhan Scheme

39. SHRI RAJVEER SINGH (RAJU BHAIYA):

SHRI BHOLA SINGH:

SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR:

SHRI RAJA AMARESHWARA NAIK:

SHRIMATI SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO:

DR. JAYANTA KUMAR ROY:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has been implementing Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) scheme;
- (b) if so, the details of progress made so far, year-wise;
- (c) the details of financial assistance provided so far, State-wise, year-wise;
- (d) whether the Government has made it mandatory of five per cent compressed bio gas for all organizations marketing natural and bio gas in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to establish 500 new 'waste to wealth' plants under GOBARdhan scheme for promoting circular economy and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the other steps being taken by the Government for effective implementation of the scheme?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

- (a) to (c) Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources dhan (GOBARdhan), launched in 2018,  is an integral component of Solid Waste Management under Phase-II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)  for  ensuring  cleanliness  in  villages  by  converting  organic/biodegradable waste including cattle  dung, kitchen leftovers, crop residue and market waste etc. into biogas and bioslurry to  improve  the lives  of villagers.  Under  SBM-G,  financial  assistance    of up to Rs.50 lakhs  per  district  is  available  for  the  entire  programme  period  from  2020-21      to 2024-25 for setting up of community level biogas plant(s). The year wise progress is as under:-

## No. of completed biogas plants

|   2018- 19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |   2023-24 (as on 17.7.2023) |   Total |
|------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------------------|---------|
|         14 |       100 |       191 |        97 |       181 |                          60 |     643 |

(d) As  informed  by  Ministry  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas,  there  is  no  mandate  on compressed bio-gas for all organizations marketing natural and biogas in the country as on date. However,  Budget  2023-24  announced  a  5%  CBG  mandate  for  all  organizations  marketing natural and biogas.

(e) As  per  Budget  Announcement  2023-24,  500  new  'waste  to  wealth'  plants  under GOBARdhan scheme will be established for promoting circular economy. These  will include 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants, including 75 plants in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based plants. These plants will be established primarily by private sector with support from stakeholder Ministries/Departments.

(f) The  stakeholder  Ministries/Departments  have  put  in  place  several  enablers  for GOBARdhan such as inclusion of loans for setting up of CBG plants under Priority Sector Lending, inclusion of Fermented Organic Manure (FOM)/ Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM) under Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), CBG plants producing FOM & LFOM with zero discharge considered under White category by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), revision  in  CBG  procurement  price  under  Sustainable  Alternative  Towards  Affordable Transportation (SATAT) & CBG price indexing with RSP of CNG/CBG, development of a Unified  Registration  Portal  for  GOBARdhan,  scheme  for  Market  Development  Assistance (MDA) to promote organic fertilizers produced from GOBARdhan  plants, exemption of central excise duty to CNG blended with CBG to prevent double taxation, exemption for requirement of authorization letter for sale of FOM/LFOM (Bio- slurry) for a period of three years, inclusion of  CBG  in  the  list  of  activities  for  trading  of  carbon  credit  under  bilateral/cooperative approaches  etc.  Some  more  enablers  are  also  under                consideration  by  various  stakeholder Ministries/Departments  including  schemes for  financial  support  for  biomass  collection  and extension of pipeline connectivity from the CBG plants to the city gas distribution grid.

Other measures include constitution of Inter-Ministerial Task Force for smooth coordination between stakeholder Ministries/Departments, periodic review of progress, regular interaction with stakeholders like CBG operators, State Govt. officials, Fertilizers PSUs and regular review meetings etc. for monitoring of progress as well as interventions required to speed up the progress.