Stressing the importance of Gobar Dhan, Prime Minister Narendra Momdi said wet urban household waste and waste from cattle and farm is Gobar Dhan. He said that Gobardhan from waste, clean fuel from Gobar Dhan, energy from clean fuel is a life affirming chain. He added that in coming two years, Gober Dhan Bio CNG plants will be established in 75 big Municipal bodies.
Narendra Modi inaugurated “Gobar-Dhan (Bio-CNG) Plant” in Indore of Madhya Pradesh, through video conferencing. Governor, Mangubhai C. Patel; Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Dr Virendra Kumar and Kaushal Kishore were among those present on the occasion.
“This campaign will go a long way in making Indian cities clean, pollution free and in the direction of clean energy”, he said. The Prime Minister said that not only in cities, Gobar Dhan plants are being set up in villages also, getting extra income for the farmers. This will help in dealing with the problem of stray and unsupported cattle along with meeting India’s climate commitments, he said.
The Prime Minister said that during the last seven years the government has tried to provide permanent solutions instead of the quick-fix temporary solutions to the problems. He said that in the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission, government is working to remove lakhs of tonnes of garbage that is occupying thousand acres of land and causing air and water pollution leading to many diseases.
The Swachh Bharat campaign also led to enhanced dignity of women and beautification of the cities and villages. Now the focus is on disposal of wet waste, he said. Government is trying to convert these mountains of garbage into green zones in the next 2-3 years. He also expressed happiness that garbage disposal capacity of the country has increased by 4 times since 2014. More than 1600 bodies are getting material recovery facilities to get rid of single use plastic.
The Prime Minister also underlined the link between cleanliness and tourism and said that cleanliness leads to tourism and gives rise to a new economy. He cited interest in Indore’s success as clean city as an example of this connection. He added “It is government’s effort to make as many of Indian cities water plus. This is being stressed in the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission.”
The Prime Minister mentioned increase in ethanol blending in petrol which has rose from 1 percent to around 8 per cent in last 7-8 years. Supply of ethanol increased significantly during this period from 40 crore litres to 300 crore litres, helping sugar mills and farmers.