Urban India is yielding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to give up LPG subsidy to allow penetration of cleaner energy among the poor using wood as fuel.
However, there are certain people in Delhi and the NCR who are turning their class-X science lessons on biogas — an alternative fuel from organic waste — into a reality to save LPG and conserve environment in a city, which produces over 8,000 MT of Municipal Solid Waste per day, including organic kitchen waste, half of which piles up at already saturated landfill sites.
The government is also working on a “Biogas Mission” to push home scale biogas plants and work towards standardisation and including waste such as from poultry, etc, too. The mission has a target of installing one crore plants across India against the current 48 lakh.
While many in urban settings would scorn at the idea of installing a biogas plant at home as it requires to be fed with cow dung and waste, there are some who are setting a precedent.
Shyam Sunder Aggarwal, now in his late 70s and the owner of an engineering company, has a biogas plant at his house in north Delhi’s posh Civil Lines area. The plant was installed around four to five years ago and is now producing enough biogas for an average family of four. His staff at home use a biogas stove to cook meals.
“The plant is fed everyday with 10 kg cow dung, water and kitchen waste. The cow dung is bought from nearby cowsheds. This mixture is fermented inside the fermentation tank converted into slurry through which methane gas and carbon dioxide gas are released,” he shares.
Dr. Upasana Singh, a resident of Noida, also installed a biogas plant in her house some two to three years ago. Today, she is using biogas while the rich manure produced as a byproduct enriches her plants and lawns.
The MCD has a ban on dairies just about anywhere in the cities but its official says cattle can be kept at home for purposes such as biogas plant by meeting requirement of space and waste disposal.
While many in urban settings would scorn at the idea of installing a biogas plant at home as it requires to be fed with cow dung and waste, there are some who are setting a precedent
