CBG plants mark start of P4 initiative: Lokesh

Kanigiri (Prakasam district): Minister for HRD, IT, electronics and Communication and RTG minister Nara Lokesh performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the first Integrated Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) project hub in the country being constructed by Reliance Bio Energy, in Divakarapuram of Pedacherlopalle mandal in Kanigiri constituency on Wednesday.

Reliance Industries executive director P M S Prasad, AP, and TS Mentor, P V L Madhava Rao, Reliance Bio Energy CEO Harindra K Tripathi joined Lokesh, and energy minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar, social Welfare minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, chief secretary K Vijayanand, district collector A Thameem Ansariya, Kanigiri MLA Dr Mukku Ugranarasimha Reddy, local sarpanch Karanam Tirupataiah and others for the foundation ceremony of 100-tonne capacity CBG plant being established at a cost of Rs 139 crore in around 500 acre of land.

Reliance Industries plans to invest Rs 65,000 crores to establish 500 CBG plants across Andhra Pradesh, creating direct and indirect employment to around 2.5 lakh people.

Speaking at the event, minister Lokesh announced that 50 CBG plants would be set up in the Kanigiri area alone, which will help prevent migration from the region by creating local jobs. He said that these CBG plants will mark the beginning of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s P4 policy, aimed at eradicating poverty in the region. He said that making the Prakasam district poverty-free is the government’s goal, and it will be achieved in the next five years.

Lokesh said that farmers in dry regions would particularly benefit from these plants. He said that they are going to use about 5 lakh acre dry land in Prakasam, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa districts for the establishment of the CBG Plants.

The plants will produce gas from Napier grass, offering an annual lease amount of Rs 31,000 per acre for private lands and Rs 15,000 per acre for government lands. He said that the farmers may also grow the grass and receive a fixed price per tonne. He explained that when fully operational, the CBG plants will also produce 110 lakh metric tons of organic fertilizer annually.

The minister also announced that the foundation ceremony for the IIIT will be held soon in Kanigiri. He said that funds for the railway track through Kanigiri would be allocated in April, with work commencing in August in the Chief Minister’s presence.

He promised to complete the Veligonda project soon and provide irrigation water to the last acre in the ayacut. He assured that with the help of the rural development minister Pawan Kalyan, they would restart the Jal Jeevan Mission works, and supply safe drinking water to every household in the district through pipelines. The minister warned against spreading misinformation about the biogas plants, stating that those who unnecessarily obstruct development projects would face consequences.

MLAs Muthumula Ashok Reddy, Madduluri Malakondaiah Yadav, Inturi Nageswara Rao, MLC Kancharla Srikanth, AP Maritime Board chairman Damacharla Sathya, AP Tourism Development Corporation chairman Dr Nukasani Balaji, State Agriculture Mission vice-chairman Marreddy Srinivasa Reddy and others participated in the programme.