How Nagpur is moving ahead of the county?

Nagpur, a growing and significant part of Maharashtra has seen many changes over the last two decades. Economic growth, an inflow of human capital and a shift in it’s approach towards modernisation. In it’s own way it reflective of India as a country. The rabidlyurbanising nation is expected to reach a figure close to 600 million urban people by 2031. As with the nation, Nagpur too faces challenge related to urban planning especially in the areas of infrastructure support, governance and expansion. Water supply and waste water management are two critical areas, facing wastage, contamination and consistent supply.

As of November 2015, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation has fully transferred the management of its water supply to a private company. The contract has been awarded to Orange City Water Supply Company, a joint venture between Vishwaraj Environment and Veolia Water India. With the aim to improve access to drinking water, the local body hopes to maintain standardised quality and supply.

The project headed by Mr. Arun Lakhani, a Nagpur local, is responsible for providing the entire city with 24-hour water supply. A complex challenge, this requires managing the water supply cycle which comprises procurement, treatment, storage and distribution. 550 million litres of water is supplied to 250, 000 households on a daily basis.

“The entire model has been created under a Public Private Partnership, which requires a close collaboration between the government and OCW. It is the way forward. A solution which combines good governance and private sector efficiency”, said Mr. Lakhani.

Innovation and design have been seen as key factors required to solve the challenges posed by a growing city. Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd., a global player in the infrastructure sector is not new to the game. Upgradation of assets, metering of water usage and proactive maintenance of the system have been recognised needs of the hour by Mr. Lakhani.

“Nagpur is home, and I wish to improve the wellbeing of the entire community. They are my people and I want to secure them against health hazards. OCW reflect my vision of achieving 24x7 drinking water supply of a certain quality, at reasonable rates, while ensuring that waste water is managed properly”, stated Mr. Lakhani.

OCW hopes to satisfy it’s customers through world-class services provided at affordable rates and in a sustainable manner. Including the entire community while promoting the benefits of water conservation has been at the forefront of it’s agenda. Citizens are gradually adopting a “Reduce, Recycle, Reuse”model.

More than 1, 89, 000 consumers, 50+ reservoirs and 2000+ km of pipelines create a challenging task for Mr. Lakhani and his team of experts. Operation and maintenance, daily supply and customer service are the priority areas and OCW has faced them optimistically.

“It is not an overnight job. Hundreds of employees are continuously improving different parts of the city.Project management is key,”stated Mr. Lakhani, a veteran in handling large scale infrastructure projects.

Nagpur is currently an experiment, not simply for the citizens and OCW but for the government as well. Whether it is successful or not, it a step in the right direction because it can teach us several lessons. These lessons are important for India as a nation to move towards managing it’s ever growing needs in a systematic and sustainable manner.

Nagpur itself has much to be proud of. It is not easy to welcome change, but the city has shown the rest of the country that is important to evolve in order for people to live healthier and prosperous lives.