Lack of clarity in plan on compressed biogas plants fails to enthuse investors: Parliament panel – EQ Mag
New Delhi : Expressing displeasure over the slow pace of the government’s plan on Compressed Biogas “SATAT”, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas has said that it “lacks clarity, is burdened with procedural hurdles and has deterred investors and entrepreneurs to come forward”. Has not enthused. Proceed to set up CBG plant”.
The panel has noted that after starting with an ambitious target of setting up 5,000 CBG plants by 2023-24, only around 40 CBG plants have been set up so far, which indicates that a lot of land is yet to be covered under the SATAT scheme. need to. A report on the scheme was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The SATAT scheme encourages entrepreneurs to set up CBG plants as well as produce and supply CBG to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for sale as automotive and industrial fuel.
The parliamentary panel report has recommended that the government should ensure successful implementation of the scheme by reviewing the progress at regular intervals and remove various bottlenecks that hold back the achievement of the goals set under this initiative.
While identifying procedural issues with the scheme, the panel noted that a large number of letters of intent (LOIs) have been issued to the same entrepreneur or investor and banks have been extending loans for more than one project to an entrepreneur holding more than one LOI. Not giving
The committee also recommended that the Ministry of Petroleum should constitute a panel to review the LOIs issued so far and issue guidelines for new LOIs along with promotion of SATAT scheme in a more sustainable and systematic manner .
The panel, headed by BJP member Ramesh Bidhuri, said the central financial assistance program for biogas and CBG projects has been discontinued from April 2021 and has dealt a major blow to the industry.
It further observed that CBG plants fall under new and renewable energy category and hence these plants are eligible for central financial assistance.
The panel thus recommended that the Ministry take up with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as well as the Ministry of Finance the issue of revamping the Central Financial Scheme to encourage and incentivize entrepreneurs to set up CBG plants in the country. Should be raised
While an oil marketing company like Indian Oil has invested in five CBG projects and one each in GAIL and Hindustan Petroleum, upstream PSUs like ONGC and Oil India Limited (OIL), which have assets related to production of natural gas and marketing of natural gas, There is a specific mandate. respectively, have not invested in any project so far.
The panel has therefore suggested that all power PSUs should take SATAT initiative seriously and invest in CBG plants from their own funds.
Source: PTI
