Woman donates 2.5K sq feet land for biogas plant in US Nagar

Rudrapur: A woman in Samlata village of Sitarganj town in Udham Singh Nagar district has donated 2,500 square feet of land to the gram panchayat for construction of a biogas plant. The plant will benefit as many as 20 families in the village. Government officials have lauded the initiative. Ricchavati, a local resident who donated her land, said, "The continuous rise in the price of LPG cylinders has forced many families of the village to shift back to collecting sticks to use in their kitchens to cook food. With its inception, it will cater to their needs free of cost."Notably, under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the construction of individual biogas plants has been stopped. After the new guidelines by the central government under solid waste management, the gram panchayats can build community biogas plants under Govardhan Yojana. Himanshu Joshi, joint director of the Uttarakhand Institute of Rural Development, said that a land for biogas plant could not be identified earlier. "Once Richhavati donated her land, we have started the construction of the plant which will be completed with a budget of Rs 18 lakh. Cooking gas will be used by 20 families in the village while compost received from this plant will be used in farming. More people, like Richhavati, should come forward to help the needy," Joshi added.Himanshu Joshi further said that the beneficiaries will be maintaining this plant and also providing cow dung every day.