Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah is set to inaugurate India’s first cooperative Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant, a development by a sugar cooperative.
Located in Kopargaon, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, the plant has been established by Sahakar Maharshi Shankarrao Kolhe Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana. In addition to 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 in Kopargaon. It will be followed by a Farmers-Cooperative Meet, which is expected to attract widespread participation from cooperative leaders, agriculturists, and rural entrepreneurs.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also attend the inauguration, alongside Union Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol, Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, and other key state leaders.
Raj Process has designed and supplied the complete plant & technology solutions for the CBG Plant, Spray Dryer, and Potash Granulation systems.
Chairman Vivek Bipindada Kolhe, who also serves on the Board of IFFCO, emphasized that the project positions the cooperative at the forefront of sustainability, circular economy, and rural innovation. He added that converting agricultural and organic waste into compressed biogas will reduce reliance on fossil fuels, lower carbon emissions, and create new income opportunities for farmers supplying biomass.
The CBG plant is in line with the Union government’s National Bioenergy Programme and the GOBARdhan mission, both of which promote the use of agricultural waste for clean fuel production.
The facility is expected to process sugarcane press mud, crop stubble, and other organic waste, producing clean-burning biogas that can be bottled and used 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 minimize waste while providing value-added agri-inputs to farmers.
Founded in 1960 by the visionary leader Late Shankarraoji Kolhe, the cooperative has evolved from a traditional sugar mill into a diversified industrial entity. Over the years, it has ventured into ethanol production, co-generation power, pharmaceutical formulations, bio-compost manufacturing, and potash recovery. The addition of biogas and fertilizer-related projects further strengthens its integrated rural industry model.
