Palanpur: The Banas Bio-CNG Model Plant, a joint initiative of Banas Dairy, Suzuki Motor Corporation and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), was inaugurated at Vinchhiwadi in Dhanera taluka on Wednesday, marking another step towards promoting biogas-based clean energy and creating additional income opportunities for livestock rearers.Suzuki Motor Corporation chairman Toshihiro Suzuki, Banas Dairy chairman Shankar Chaudhary and NDDB chairman Minesh Patel were among those present at the inauguration. A bio-CNG filling station was also inaugurated, while the country’s first rural-level cooperative-model ‘Gramin Bharat Taxi’ service was flagged off with nine taxis.Suzuki said the biogas plant was an important milestone in the development of green energy. He said Japan and India had jointly resolved to work towards establishing 1,000 biogas plants across the country and that the initiative was moving rapidly towards the goal.Chaudhary said the bio-CNG initiative, backed by Suzuki and involving an investment of Rs 250 crore, had expanded from the first plant at Dama, with a capacity of 45 MT, to four operational plants with a combined daily capacity of 340 MT.New plants are planned at Tharad and Radhanpur. Banaskantha, with around three million livestock, has the potential to support about 100 such plants, he said.The initiative will not only produce clean fuel but also add scientific value to cattle dung, improve soil organic carbon and support natural, chemical-free farming, Chaudhary said.He said the nine ‘Gramin Bharat Taxi’ vehicles represented the first rural-level cooperative taxi model in the country, under which drivers would own their vehicles, similar to the cooperative ownership model followed by dairy farmers. The initiative is expected to create employment opportunities for rural youth.
