Maharashtra agriculture minister distributes 100 subsidised biogas plants to farmers in Indapur

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane has called for wider adoption of biogas as a lasting solution to the domestic cooking gas shortage affecting households and businesses across the state, distributing 100 biogas plants to farmers in Shelegaon village of Indapur taluka, Pune district, Dainik Prabhat reported.

The distribution was carried out at Shelegaon through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds provided by Parisitat Foundation, Baramati, and Eco Systems and Technology Private Limited, in cooperation with the local gram panchayat. The handover was jointly conducted by Bharane and Narayan Patil, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Karmala.

Addressing the gathering, Bharane said Shelegaon had consistently been among the first villages to avail government schemes. He said farm ponds were necessary to address water scarcity, and biogas was equally necessary to address the growing fuel shortage. He described the Shelegaon gram panchayat’s initiative as an example that other gram panchayats across the district should follow.

Bharane also directed Block Development Officer Sachin Khude to ensure information about the scheme reaches the maximum number of farmers in Indapur taluka.

Abhimanyu Nagawade, who provided technical details about the plant, said the unit is priced at Rs 48,000 but is being made available to farmers at only Rs 14,000 under a subsidised arrangement. Apart from generating cooking fuel and reducing monthly energy costs, the plant would also yield quality organic manure worth Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per year, he said.

The biogas unit is fully environment-friendly and is designed to last a minimum of 20 years.