Mumbai, Oct 13 — In a major push toward making Maharashtra’s cities garbage-free while accelerating renewable energy production, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday directed the administration to set dedicated task forces to drive waste-to-Compressed Biogas (CBG) projects across the state.
Speaking at a review meeting on garbage-free cities and CBG project proposals, CM Fadnavis instructed officials to set up processing plants wherever feasible in accordance with Maharashtra's CBG policy.
Fadnavis highlighted that project execution must be carefully planned by assessing four core parameters: total volume of waste generated, availability of suitable land, technological feasibility, and proximity to existing gas pipelines.
Implementation frameworks will be established through active collaboration between private sector players, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and urban local bodies (ULBs), he said.
Turning organic waste into energy will significantly reduce the municipal expenditures associated with waste collection and transport, accelerating urban sanitation goals, he noted.
Given the acute waste management challenges in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), projects are to be prioritised in Mumbai (BMC), Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayander, and Kalyan-Dombivli, alongside IT and industrial hubs like Hinjewadi and Chakan in Pune, said Fadnavis.
During the meeting, executives from Keva Green -- including Executive Director Vrinda Thakur, Managing Director Kedar Waze, and Director Nandan Waze -- presented a detailed case study of their functional waste-to-biogas initiative running in Nagpur, outlining strategies for scaling similar units across the state.
Discussions focused on leveraging cluster-based processing models, efficient source segregation, land management, grid/pipeline connectivity, and diverse technological interventions, said the government release.
Officials noted that adopting a cluster model -- combining adjacent smaller municipalities -- can optimise processing capacity. Additionally, conducting primary segregation within city limits while routing heavy processing to outskirt will ease land pressure inside urban areas. Positioning CBG units adjacent to gas pipelines will further lower logistics and transport expenses for the compressed gas.