Foundation Stone for Mahalakshmi Green Energy Project to be Laid in Kolhapur on September 20

Foundation Stone for Mahalakshmi Green Energy Project to be Laid in Kolhapur on September 20

Kolhapur, Maharashtra, September 19, 2026: The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of the ‘Mahalakshmi Green Energy’ project will be held in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, on September 20, 2026. The foundation stone of the project, being established as a unit of the Cooperative Sugar Value-Added Products and Bio-Energy Multi-State Cooperative Society Ltd, will be laid by Hon’ble Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah.

Under the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’ and the guidance of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah, the Multi-State Cooperative Society is being established with the objective of promoting value addition and a circular economy in the cooperative sugar industry. The initiative focuses on better utilisation of by-products generated by sugar mills to create additional value and income opportunities.

Kolhapur district is widely known for its vast sugarcane fields and advanced sugarcane cultivation. However, over the past few years, cooperative sugar mills in the region have faced increasing financial pressures, which have also affected the livelihoods of farmers and their families. In this context, better utilisation of by-products of the sugar industry and production of value-added products from them is an important step towards strengthening the cooperative sugar sector.

With this objective, the Cooperative Sugar Value-Added Products and Bio-Energy Multi-State Cooperative Society Ltd has been established. The society will work towards the revival of closed or loss-making cooperative sugar mills across the country, with the initiative beginning in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district.

The society’s first project, ‘Mahalakshmi Green Energy’, is being established in Kolhapur district. The project will support the financial strengthening of the district’s Jawahar, Sharad, Rajaram, Mandlik and Halsidnath Cooperative Sugar Mills. Value-added and agricultural-use products will be manufactured from the by-products of these mills, helping reduce financial pressures on the mills and improve the economic condition of farmers.

An integrated project will be established under the initiative, comprising a 250 TPD citric acid plant, a 20 TPD compressed biogas (CBG) plant and a 200 TPD PDM plant. The project will primarily utilise sugar industry by-products such as molasses, press mud, bagasse and other suitable biomass, as well as ash from incineration boilers. Other necessary infrastructure and utility facilities will also be developed as required.

The Mahalakshmi Green Energy project will be an important initiative towards creating a model for downstream value addition in the cooperative sugar sector. It is not merely an industrial investment but also a step towards developing a scalable model for the cooperative sugar industry. In the future, this model could potentially be adopted in other cooperative sugar clusters across the country, promoting better utilisation of sugar industry by-products, development of renewable energy and production of value-added products.

Presence of Senior Dignitaries

The ceremony will be attended by Shri Eknath Shinde, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra; and Smt Sunetra Ajit Pawar, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, as distinguished guests.

The programme will also be attended by Shri Murlidhar Mohol, Hon’ble Minister of State for Cooperation and Civil Aviation; Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, Hon’ble Minister of State for Cooperation; and Shri Babasaheb Mohanrao Patil, Hon’ble Minister for Cooperation, Maharashtra, as guests of honour.

The occasion will also be graced by the presence of Shri Pankaj Kumar Bansal, Managing Director, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), New Delhi.

The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony will be held at 11:00 AM on September 20, 2026, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The programme will include the lighting of the ceremonial lamp and inauguration, welcome of the guests, an address by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, screening of a short film on the circular economy in the sugar industry, and the formal launch of the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of the project by the Union Home and Cooperation Minister.