Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate India’s first cooperative Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant developed by a sugar cooperative, marking a milestone in the country’s green energy and cooperative movement.
The project has been established by Sahakar Maharshi Shankarrao Kolhe Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana in Kopargaon, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. Alongside the CBG plant, a Spray Dryer and Potash Granule manufacturing facility will also be launched.
The event is scheduled for Sunday, 5 October 2025 at 1:30 pm at Sanjivani University Ground, Kopargaon. It will be followed by a Farmers-Cooperative Meet expected to draw large participation from cooperative leaders, agriculturists, and rural entrepreneurs.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will attend the ceremony, along with Union Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol, Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and several other state leaders.
The high-powered presence underscores the importance the Centre and Maharashtra government place on bio-energy and cooperative-led industrial models.
Chairman Vivek Bipindada Kolhe, who also serves on the Board of IFFCO, said the project positions the cooperative at the forefront of sustainability, circular economy practices, and rural innovation.
He emphasised that converting agricultural and organic residues into compressed biogas will reduce dependence on fossil fuels, lower carbon emissions, and open a new income stream for farmers who can supply biomass.
The CBG plant also aligns with the Union government’s National Bioenergy Programme and the GOBARdhan mission, which encourage the use of agri-waste for clean fuel production.
The facility is expected to process sugarcane press mud, crop stubble, and other organic waste to produce clean-burning biogas that can be bottled and supplied as a substitute for CNG in transportation, industry, and rural energy applications.
The Spray Dryer and Potash Granule unit will utilize by-products, allowing the cooperative to reduce waste and offer value-added agri-inputs back to farmers.
Established in 1960 by the visionary leader Late Shankarraoji Kolhe, the cooperative has grown from a conventional sugar mill into a diversified industrial enterprise. Over the decades, it has forayed into ethanol production, co-generation power, pharmaceutical formulations, bio-compost manufacturing, and potash recovery. The new biogas and fertilizer-linked projects further extend its integrated rural industry model.
Sector experts say this inauguration could serve as a template for other sugar cooperatives and agro-industrial societies across India, particularly with mounting pressure to address crop residue burning, fossil fuel imports, and farm income diversification.
The initiative signals how cooperatives can drive national missions on energy transition and rural industrialization while retaining farmer ownership.