Cooperative CBG projects will offer a lifeline to sugar mills, say industry leaders

Projects provide economic opportunity and an environmental necessity

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah’s recent push for CBG has given a strong boost to this optimism. In his visit to Kopargaon in Ahilyanagar district, Shah inaugurated India’s first cooperative-based CBG plant at the Sahakar Maharshi Shankarrao Kolhe Cooperative Sugar Factory.

Maharashtra’s cooperative sugar mills are pinning new hopes on Compressed Biogas (CBG) as a sustainable revenue stream and a solution to long-standing financial instability. Millers believe that CBG projects could transform the sector by creating a circular economy that turns agricultural waste into wealth.Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah’s recent push for CBG has given a strong boost to this optimism. In his visit to Kopargaon in Ahilyanagar district, Shah inaugurated India’s first cooperative-based CBG plant at the Sahakar Maharshi Shankarrao Kolhe Cooperative Sugar Factory. The ₹55-crore project will produce 12 tonnes of CBG and 75 tonnes of potash daily from byproducts such as jaggery and molasses. These products, currently imported by India, will now be locally produced, reducing import dependence and promoting Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).Shah announced that similar cooperative CBG units would be set up in 15 cooperative sugar factories across India, with Maharashtra expected to take the lead. Four cooperative mills in the state will be part of this first phase. “CBG projects can become a model of circular economy — where nothing goes to waste and everything becomes a resource,” Shah said.