GOBARDhan Scheme [UPSC Notes]

In 2018, GoI launched the GOBAR-Dhan Scheme as a national priority project under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin – Phase II programme. In the Union Budget 2023, the Finance Minister announced 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants for promoting a circular economy with a total investment of Rs 10,000 crore under the GOBAR-Dhan scheme. Of the 500 new plants, 200 will be compressed biogas plants (CBG), including 75 in cities and the remaining 300 will be community or cluster-based plants.

GOBAR-Dhan Scheme (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources)

The GOBAR-Dhan scheme was launched in April 2018 by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Jal Shakti Ministry. The scheme  focuses on keeping villages clean, increasing the income of rural households and generating energy from cattle waste. 

• The scheme is being implemented as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).
  • The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) comprises two main components for creating clean villages – creating open defecation-free (ODF) villages and solid and liquid waste management (SLWM) in villages.
• A Unified Portal of GOBHAR-Dhan ensures the smooth implementation of Biogas schemes/initiatives and their real-time tracking. 

• A total of 589 Biogas/CBG (Compressed Biogas) plants are functional under the GOBAR-Dhan scheme. Additionally, 251 are under construction.
• So far, 168 districts have been covered under the scheme.

GOBARDhan Scheme Objectives

• The objective of the scheme is to support villages to safely manage their cattle waste, agricultural waste and eventually all organic waste.
• The scheme supports communities converting their cattle and organic waste to wealth using decentralised systems.
• Through effective disposal of waste in rural regions, the scheme helps to curb vector-borne diseases.
• The conversion of organic waste especially cattle waste to biogas and fertiliser for use in rural areas. 
• The scheme promotes rural entrepreneurship, employment and income-generation opportunities. 

Implementation of GOBARDhan Scheme

There are 4 Models for the implementation of the projects. As per GOBAR-DHAN guidelines, the Model wise incentive is as under:

1. Model-A (Gram Panchayat): Rs. 7 lakh, Rs. 12 lakh, Rs. 15 lakh and Rs. 20.00 lakh for a GP having households up to 150, 300, 500 and more than 500 respectively.
2. Model-B (SHG Federation): Rs. 7 lakh, Rs. 12 lakh, Rs. 15 lakh and Rs. 20.00 lakh for a GP having households up to 150, 300, 500 and more than 500 respectively.
3. Model-C (Bulk Waste Generator/ Entrepreneur) is Rs. Rs. 7 lakh, Rs. 12 lakh, Rs. 15 lakh and Rs. 20.00 lakh for a GP having households up to 150, 300, 500 and more than 500 respectively.
4. Model-D (Any Eligible Enterprise): No incentive

Stakeholders in the GOBARDhan Scheme

• Dept of Agricultural Research and Education
• Dept of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare
• Dept of Rural Development
• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
• Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
• Dept of Drinking Water and Sanitation
• Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
• Dept of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• Dept of Science and Technology
• Dept of Fertilizers

Biogas-

Biogas contains about 55-65% methane, 35-44% carbon dioxide and traces of other gases such as ammonia, Hydrogen sulphide and nitrogen.

• In its raw form, biogas can be used as a clean cooking fuel like LPG for lighting, motive power and electricity generation.
• Biogas can be purified and upgraded up to 98 % of purity to make it suitable to be used as a green fuel for transportation or filling of cylinders. The process relies on a high pressure of circa 250 bar and hence is called compressed biogas (CBG).

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