BETTIAH, March 28 -- As the country, and the world in general, reels under a gas shortage, the Vardhana Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant in the Kumarbagh Industrial Area of West Champaran district offers promise to the state of Bihar. To be launched in coming weeks, the unit will convert agricultural residue and organic waste into high-grade fuel. It will be Bihar's first large scale compressed biogas plant. It will use the press mud (or filter cake), a residual byproduct of sugar mills, along with other biodegradable waste such as rice straw, maize straw, municipal waste to generate compressed biogas, a clean and sustainable alternative to conventional fuels. Located about 12 kilometres from Bettiah, the headquarters of West Champaran district, the plant is spread over four blocks in about 6.5 acres of land in Phase-I Industrial Area of Kumarbagh. One block houses two reactors with a capacity of 70 lakh liters each; the others are the gas purification and enrichment block, the casket filling block, and the fertiliser block. Amit Kumar Singh, co-founder and chief financial officer of the unit, said that sampling and testing by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) is currently underway. "We will begin full-scale service delivery once certification is received," he said. He added that the company -- Vardhan Business Associates Pvt Ltd (VBAPL) -- has already partnered with the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and GAIL to contribute to the development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks in the region. The produced biogas will be supplied for use as a clean automotive and industrial fuel, aligning with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) for alternative energy sources. Singh said that pipelines are being laid in Bettiah town of West Champaran to supply gas to around 1,000 households which will be expanded further in the future. "Our present capacity stands at 6,000 kg per day, and we have invested Rs.50 crore in the project. We are looking forward to investing Rs.100 crore next year to cover 12,000 households," said Singh....