Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, along with Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri, on Tuesday dedicated India's largest bio energy plant, constructed at a cost of Rs 230 crore, over 20 acres of land.
Describing it as a red-letter day for the state, he said this step will go a long way in wiping out the menace of paddy straw burning from the state.
He said Verbio Group has strong association with the state as its Indian subsidiary Verbio India Private Ltd is the largest biofuel (Biomethane/Bio-CNG) production units in India with 33 TPD (tons per day) and 550 TPD per year of Bio-CNG capacity, adding that this Bio-CNG project will produce biogas by anaerobic digestion process and is a great way to solve the problem of stubble burning.
Mann said the annual straw consumption in this unit will be 1.30 lakh ton, adding that it will help in solving the vex problem of paddy straw burning.
He said that set up over an area of 20 acres of land, this unit will contribute to an annual reduction of 1.50 lakh metric ton of pollutants and 20,000 MT of fly ash currently produced due to paddy straw burning.
He further said this unit will also give employment to 1,000 youth and affect more than 5,000 families. Mann said that the acreage of soil enriched from biomanure will be 2,150 acres.
The Chief Minister further said that the Verbio group has evinced keen interest in setting up more such plants in the state. Once successful, the verbio group will set up 10 more such plants in the state.
The target is to make Punjab free from the menace of paddy straw burning, he added.