Delhi's New Biogas Plants Aim to Clean Yamuna and Boost Farming

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) have signed a significant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to construct multiple Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants in Delhi. Announced on July 15, 2026, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, this initiative is a key component of the federal government's strategy to rejuvenate the heavily polluted Yamuna River. The project aims to prevent large volumes of organic waste from entering the river through Delhi’s drainage systems by redirecting cattle dung for scientific processing.

The partnership will focus on processing waste from approximately 1.25 lakh cattle housed in dairy colonies and cow shelters across the city. The collected dung will be transported to processing facilities in Nangli, Ghoga-Goyla, and Ghazipur. To incentivize participation, local livestock farmers will receive ₹1 per kilogram of cow dung delivered to municipal collection centers.

The biogas production process involves converting agricultural and dairy waste into compressed biogas, an eco-friendly alternative to compressed natural gas (CNG). This conversion also produces nutrient-rich slurry and solid digestate, which can be used as high-grade organic fertilizers, thus promoting organic farming and reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers.

The waste-to-energy initiative is crucial for meeting the government's deadline to stop untreated wastewater from entering the Yamuna by December 2028. To support this, the city has also started upgrading around 80 wastewater and sewage treatment plants.

Amit Shah highlighted the potential of this initiative to serve as a model for cleaning other major metropolitan areas in India while enhancing farmers' incomes. By transforming urban waste into valuable bioenergy and fertilizers, the project aims to align environmental conservation with local economic growth.