Parliament Question: Reduction in Small Biogas Plants in Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 557 ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026 REDUCTION IN SMALL BIOGAS PLANTS IN MAHARASHTRA 557. SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL ADV GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI DR. BACHHAV SHOBHA DINESH MS. PRANITI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE Will the Minister of NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of the observed reduction in the number of small biogas plants installed in Maharashtra from 5180 in the year 2022-23 to 4581 in 2024-25 under the Biogas Programme; (b) if so, the reason for such decline in installations thereof; (c) the details of the measures being taken by the Government to accelerate adoption among households in Maharashtra particularly in districts with high cattle population and agricultural waste generation such as Solapur, Nandurbar, Bhandara, Sangli and Dhule; and (d) the details of the number of biogas plants linked to toilets set up in Maharashtra along with their capacity, faecal sludge generation and current utilisation during the last five years, district- wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD YESSO NAIK) (a) & (b) The details of small biogas plants installed in the State of Maharashtra during Phase-I of National Bioenergy Programme from FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25 may be seen below: FY No. of Biogas plants installed 2022-23 5180 2023-24 4707 2024-25 4581As reported by the Government of Maharashtra, the lower number of installations during 2024-25 was mainly due to increase in the construction cost of biogas plants, reduced availability of cattle dung owing to decline in livestock at the household level, increasing use of alternative cooking fuels, water scarcity in certain areas, shortage of trained technicians, and reduced interest among beneficiaries in operation and maintenance of biogas plants. (c) To accelerate the adoption of biogas plants among households in Maharashtra, including districts with high cattle population and agricultural waste generation such as Solapur, Nandurbar, Bhandara, Sangli and Dhule, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is providing Central Financial Assistance (CFA) under the Biogas Programme during Phase-I of the National Bioenergy Programme. In addition, awareness and publicity campaigns, training of beneficiaries and technicians, and coordination with the State Government/implementing agencies for identification of eligible beneficiaries are undertaken to facilitate wider adoption of biogas plants. (d) The district-wise number of toilet-linked biogas plants established in Maharashtra is given at Annexure. However, the information regarding faecal sludge generation and its current utilization is not being maintained separately. *****Annexure Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 557 to be answered on 22.07.2026 regarding “Reduction in Small Biogas Plants in Maharashtra” District-wise details of Biogas plants linked to toilets set up in Maharashtra during last five years (FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26): Sl. No. District Number of biogas plants 1. Thane 17 2. Palghar 168 3. Raigad 12 4. Ratnagiri 61 5. Sindhudurg 43 6. Nashik 9 7. Dhule 0 8. Nandurbar 25 9. Jalgaon 46 10. Ahilyanagar 15 11. Pune 55 12. Satara 55 13. Sangli 74 14. Solapur 2 15. Kolhapur 1725 16. C.Sambhajinagar 5 17. Jalna 0 18. Parbhani 72 19. Hingoli 0 20. Beed 14 21. Nanded 022. Dharashiv 0 23. Latur 0 24. Amravati 32 25. Buldhana 0 26. Akola 7 27. Washim 0 28. Yavatmal 0 29. Nagpur 76 30. Wardha 0 31. Bhandra 78 32. Gondiya 16 33. Chandrapur 75 34. Gadchiroli 48 Total 2730 Note: Each plant has an installed capacity of 3 cu. m per day