8-BIOGAS PLANTS IN MADHYA PRADESH: State mulls 1100 TDP under Swachh Bharat Mission

As many as eight (8) cities across Madhya Pradesh will soon host their first-ever Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants under the Swachh Bharat Mission, with a combined processing capacity of 1,100 tonnes per day (TPD). The CBG projects aim to convert organic waste into Bio-CNG and organic manure, promoting sustainable waste management and clean energy generation.

The project, estimated at Rs 236 crore, will be jointly funded by the Centre, State, and participating cities. The Central Government will cover 50% of the cost under the Gobardhan Bio-CNG initiative, while the rest will be shared between the state government and urban local bodies.

The Urban Administration Department (UAD) has held that the CBG project address the growing issue of improper organic waste disposal, which causes pollution and groundwater contamination. About 15 smaller towns have been linked to these eight major “cluster cities” for channeling household, restaurant and market waste to the plants. For example, Harsud and Mundi will send waste to the Khandwa district cluster.

The decentralised waste management model will process organic material into biogas, purify it, and compress it into CBG—a green fuel alternative to petrol and diesel. UAD says that the by-product, digestate, will be converted into organic manure to support sustainable farming. Officials added that agricultural residues like crop stubble would also be processed, reducing environmental hazards.

Cities were selected based on waste segregation levels and logistical viability. Gwalior will host the largest plant with a capacity of 350 tonnes per day, while Sagar’s 115-tonne plant has already received approval. Other sites are in tender and land allocation stages.

Developed under a Public-Private Partnership model, operators will buy back biogas and manure, paying annual royalties to Urban Local Bodies—up to Rs 40 lakh for the Khandwa plant. Construction is expected to start soon, with operations likely beginning by late 2026 or early 2027.

In April 2025, MNRE Minister for State Shripad Yesso Naik informed the Parliament that Centre has planned to be set up 2470 biogas plants in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The largest CBG project of India is already operational in Indore.