New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti on Wednesday launched the Unified Portal of Gobardhan, a scheme initiated in early 2018 to manage the prevailing issues of bio-waste in villages including cattle waste and converting them into biogas and organic manure to improve the lives of villagers by providing economic and resource benefits to farmers and households.

Union Minister, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh, Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Union Minister of State, Jal Shakti, Rattan Lal Kataria joined the launching event as their departments are the stakeholders of this unified approach.

Shekhawat said on the occasion that Unified Gobardhan portal will ensure close coordination with stakeholder Departments/Ministries for smooth implementation of Biogas schemes/initiatives and its real time tracking.

The key stakeholders under Unified Approach namely,Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), and Department of Rural Developmentare having variousBiogas programmes/policies/schemes like New National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NNBOMP) of MNRE, Biofuel Policy &Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) of MoPNNG, and Cooperative schemes through the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of Animal Husbandry Department and various other similarschemes.

Under the new unified approach, all these programmes/schemes will be coordinated by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Swachh Bharat Mission - Grameen (SBMG).

Shekhawat, said that SBMG transformed itself into a Jan Andolan for sanitation under the guidance and leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) rural India milestone in mission mode.

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar expressed confidence that the launch of unified portal of Gobardhan will further strengthen the rural economythrough a convergent approach for various Biogas projects/models and initiatives.

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singhin highlighted the importance of 'Waste to Wealth' aspect of Gobardhan. He remarked that rural India generates enormous quantities of bio-waste which can be efficiently utilized and lead to better environment and public health.

Union Minister of Petroleum,Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan outlined the broader objectives and goals of Bio-Gas schemes undertaken by his ministry.

Pradhan highlighted the successful model of SATAT which aims at setting up of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and ensuring market linkage for use of biofuelin automotive fuels. He mentioned that the pilot projects are being set up across the country and it will further increase economic benefits for farmers and overall cleanliness in rural areas.

--IANS pj/ash