No policy, tonnes of manure pile up at Punjab's biogas plants

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, January 29

Thousands of tonnes of manure, a by-product derived during the production of the compressed biogas (automotive fuel) and biogas power (electricity), is piling up at various plants in the state, installed to use crop stubble as raw material. There is no policy yet that allows the sale of manure produced by these biogas plants.

Amend norms

This time, our plant worked at 30 per cent of its capacity. We started giving manure to farmers for free in the catchment area of the unit, but still stocks are piling up. The norms of the fertiliser control order have to be amended before we can start selling manure. Ashish Kumar, MD, Verbio India

Tests inconclusive

Manure produced by these plants has to be tested for three years in a row for nutrients present in it. The tests for the first year have been done by scientists at PAU. These are, however, inconclusive. The management of these plants are not even applying to get the manure tested. Gurwinder Singh, Director, Agriculture

Many companies, whose projects for setting up compressed biogas plants (CBG) have been approved, are waiting to set up their units. These firms will set up plant only when a clear policy to sell and/or use manure formed by the government.

While the in-situ management of stubble has failed to give the desired results in Punjab, considering the high incidents of stubble burning –over 53,000 – reported in 2022, the focus on ex-situ management of crop stubble has also taken a hit because of the lack of policy for sale of the manure.

Interestingly, farmers have been critical of in-situ stubble management due to huge costs involved and also because of the rise of rodent population in fields where this crop residue management method has been adopted.

Sukha Singh, a farmer of Alamgir village in Ludhiana district, says most farmers would be more than happy to earn money by selling stubble if it was collected from their fields. “We will also like to use manure. But the government does not seem to promote this and wants farmers to spend money on buying expensive machinery, fuel and rodenticides to deal with rodents when we opt for in-situ stubble management,” he rued.

Ashish Kumar, Managing Director, Verbio India, the Indian subsidiary of Verbio AG, which has set up the biggest bio-energy plant in India at Lehragaga in Sangrur, said 25,000 tonnes of manure was lying at the unit site.

“This time, our plant worked at 30 per cent of its capacity. We started giving manure to farmers for free in the catchment area of the unit, but still stocks are piling up. The norms of the fertilizer control order have to be amended before we can start selling manure. It is only through the sale of the manure, along with the bio-fuel, that the plant will be economically viable,” he said. The plant was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in October last year, he added.

Sanjeev Nagpal, who has a biogas-based plant in Fazilka, said, “I was selling manure to farmers at Rs 4 per kg. But then the licence has not been renewed, though I have applied for it several times. Since stocks of manure piled up to 5,000 tonnes, I was forced to stop using paddy straw as raw material. Now, I use only cow dung. My plant is running at just 20 per cent of its capacity.”

Gurwinder Singh, Director, Agriculture, said the government was aware of the problems faced by plants while disposing off manure. He said the rules say that the manure produced by these plants had to be tested for three years in a row for nutrients present in it. “The tests for the first year have been done by scientists at PAU, Ludhiana. These are, however, inconclusive. The management of these plants are not even applying to get the manure tested. These tests are important to find the nutrient value of manure and whether it can replace any chemical fertiliser, before allowing its sale and use by buyers,” he said.