Amit Shah said, “The agreement will serve as a model to make all major cities of the country clean... This initiative will not only increase the income of livestock farmers but will also improve cleanliness, generate CBG and give a strong boost to organic farming.” (File Photo)The MCD and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) under the Union Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to set up compressed biogas plants in Delhi for the scientific utilisation of cow dung.According to an official statement, the MoU is aimed at preventing cattle dung from entering the Yamuna and turning it into a resource that can generate compressed biogas plants (CBG) and support organic farming.Speaking on the occasion, Shah said, “The agreement will serve as a model to make all major cities of the country clean… This initiative will not only increase the income of livestock farmers but will also improve cleanliness, generate CBG and give a strong boost to organic farming.”The MoU is also an important step towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resolve to clean the Yamuna, he added.Shah said arrangements were being made to ensure that no cow dung enters the river in the future. “By December 2028, we will ensure that not a single litre of dirty water enters the Yamuna,” he said, adding that proper disposal of waste from around 1.25 lakh cattle was essential to achieve the objective.Under the agreement, he said, cow dung will be processed at plants in Nangli, Ghoga-Goyla and Ghazipur. “Livestock farmers would be paid Rs 1 per kg of cow dung,” he added.He further said that work had already begun on around 80 treatment plants in Delhi for the treatment of sewage and industrial waste.Story continues below this adAccording to officials, MCD and NDDB had earlier planned to process dairy waste, including cattle dung from dairy farms and gaushalas, at multiple biogas plants across the city to prevent it from entering the Yamuna through drains.The CBG is made by breaking down biomass waste, such as cattle dung, in the absence of oxygen. The gas is then purified and compressed. Officials said it can be used as a cleaner alternative to CNG in vehicles. The plants will convert waste into CBG, while the leftover manure and slurry can be used as organic fertiliser in farmers’ fields, they added.The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and senior government officials.