Industry should prioritize use of treated water and leverage AMRUT 2.0 for opportunities in recycle in reuse: Ms Thara, Additional Secretary, MoHUA
Ms. D Thara, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, while informing about the various steps being undertaken to take forward the reform agenda under AMRUT2.0 attributed the role of AMRUT in augmenting the capacity in addressing various challenges faced in Urban Water Management at the city level. She was speaking at the CII 2nd Conference on Urban Water Management held on virtual platform today.
On water security for cities and development of alternate sources of water, Ms Thara stressed on the usage of treated sewage by industry and urged industry to take the benefit of the existing Government schemes for using treated sewage. In this regard, she urged CII to suggest an action plan for augmenting capacities with respect to recycle and reuse of sewage and wastewater for industries in the vicinity of million plus cities. Collective action, better outcomes and transparency in the projects implemented at the ground level will ensure better urban water management, concluded Ms Thara.
Dr Victor R. Shinde, Lead-Water and Environment, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), stressed on the need for involvement of all stakeholders in operationalization of the concept and philosophy of Integrated Urban Water Management as an actionable agenda. This would entail exchange of information among various agencies involved in Urban Water management including participation of people. As a step forward in this direction, Dr Shinde, informed about Delhi Water Forum that aims to bring together water related government departments and agencies along with the experts, NGO’s and people. The forum would also serve as a knowledge repository for the city and provide a catalogue help with futuristic planning, informed Dr Shinde.
Mr Rajesh Sharma, CII National Committee on Water and Chairman & Managing Director, Ion Exchange (India) Limited underscored the importance of involvement of stakeholders and the need to follow the model for Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM). He also stressed on the need for increasing freshwater availability by increasing storage especially around small cities through watershed development, lakes, aquifers, rejuvenation of water bodies etc. He observed recovering economic cost of water from users will ensure proper operation & maintenance of infrastructure created.
Mr N K Ranganath, Member, Advisory Board CII – Water Institute and the Conference Chairman, shared that efficient and sustainable urban water management warrants involvement of all stakeholders in the process and a change in mindset towards water conservation. According to him development of district water plans that look at holistic management of water resources along with application of scientific and science-based tools for water management in scenario planning would be important. In this regard Mr Ranganath cited the case studies of application of CII WATSCAN – a decision support tool for Udaipur and Gurgaon for defining strategies and interventions needed for Urban water Management as the city continues to expand.
Dr Kapil Kumar Narula, CEO & Executive Director, CII Water Institute stated water is an important component in the process of urbanization, as the management of the same not only poses challenges but also opens up opportunity. He affirmed CII will continue to engage with MoHUA and other stakeholder in bringing about a paradigm shift in Urban Water Management.
Other speakers in the conference included- Dr Ramnath Sonwane, Secretary, Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, Government of Maharashtra; Mr Ajay Popat, President, Ion Exchange (India) Ltd.; Mr Bipin Pagaria, Head of Order Management & Quotation Support, Siemens Large Drives India Pvt Ltd.; Dr Harinarayan Tiwari, Managing Director, Floodkon Consultants LLP; and Prof. Kapil Gupta, Professor (HAG), Water Resources Engineering, IIT Bombay. The conference was attended by representative from the Government, industry leaders, utility managers, technology providers and academia.
14 December 2022
New Delhi