EU thumbs up to Pune firm's effective management plan

Arun Lakhani, CMD, Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd

PUNE: A city-based organisation's water management plan is among the four projects selected by the Centre and the European Union (EU) for study and implementation.

The city recently hosted a three-day international conference on 'Water Management & Waste Water Treatment'. The participants deliberated on acute water shortage and water management issues and delved on workable technologies for sewage treatment. The conference was arranged by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ecosan, and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and the EU.

City-based EcoSan Services Foundation's water management plan, 'NaWaTech', is one of the four projects selected. The project was showcased at Yashada last week.

The projects that were showcased at the conference were selected under the framework of the India-European Union Science & Technology research and innovation project in water technology and management.

"With more people migrating to cities, water resources are dwindling. It has become mandatory to go for waste water treatment. We have to look at shifting from the conventional approach," said Girish Bapat, the city's guardian minister.

"India pumps out almost 80% sewage of the total water supplied. We can treat 60% of this. This water can be used for construction, gardening, etc," said Arun Lakhani, managing director of Vishvaraj Infrastructure, India, which has implemented the 24x7 water scheme in Nagpur using a public private partnership model.

The four projects NaWaTech, Eco India, Swings and Saraswati focus on various water treatment and management technologies developed and implemented by research institutes. The projects are jointly funded by DST-GOI and the European Commission. They were selected on the basis of minimum maintenance, low energy consumption, large scope to scale up and cost effectiveness.

"For the projects, Rs 16mn funding has been provided by DST and EU. Both Indian and European consortiums will work on these projects to assess and enhance the potential of natural and technical water treatment systems to suit local conditions," said Arvind Kumar, scientist-E of the International Multilateral and Regional Cooperation department, in DST-GOI.

NaWaTech is a three-year collaborative project. It works under a consortium of seven European organizations and seven Indian members, which includes the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). "NaWaTech is based on optimized use of surface water supply, rain water, storm water as well as grey water," said DB Panse, director Ecosan Services Foundation.

Mangesh Dighe, head of environment cell of PMC, said, "One system has been installed at the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran office in Pune. The water will supplied to Indradhanushya centre, Sachin Tendulkar Park and a public toilet near Ambil odha."

This News is Originally Posted on TIME OF INDIA

Pune firm’s water management plan gets a thumbs up

Arun Lakhani, CMD, Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd

Pune: A city-based organisation's water management plan is among the four projects selected by the Centre and the European Union (EU) for study and implementation.

The city is hosting a three-day international conference on 'Water Management & Waste Water Treatment' will address acute water shortage and water management issues and delve on workable technologies for sewage treatment. The conference is organized by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ecosan, and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and the EU.

City-based EcoSan Services Foundation's water management plan, 'NaWaTech', is one of the four projects selected by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and EU. The project was showcased at Yashada on Thursday, the first day of the international conference.

The four projects that were showcased at the conference were selected under the framework of the India-European Union Science & Technology research and innovation project in water technology and management.

"With more people migrating to cities, water resources are dwindling. Hence, It has become mandatory to go for waste water treatment as the situation will only worsen. We have to look at shifting from the conventional approach. Research and innovation should be our constant endeavour," said Girish Bapat, the city's guardian minister of Pune.

"India pumps out almost 80% sewage out of the total water supplied. We can treat at least 60% of this. This water can be used for construction, gardening, etc," said Arun Lakhani, chairman and managing director of Vishvaraj Infrastructure, India, which has implemented the 24x7 water scheme in Nagpur using a public private partnership model.

The four projects showcased are NaWaTech, Eco India, Swings and Saraswati. They focus on various water treatment and management technologies developed and implemented by various research institutes. The projects are jointly funded by both DST-GOI and the European Commission. They were selected on the basis of minimum maintenance, low energy consumption, large scope to scale up and cost effectiveness.

"For the water-based projects, Rs 16mn funding has been provided jointly by DST and EU. Both the Indian and European consortiums will work jointly on these projects to assess and enhance the potential of natural and technical water treatment systems to suit local conditions," said Arvind Kumar, scientist-E of the International Multilateral and Regional Cooperation department, in DST-GOI.

NaWaTech, which stands for Natural Water Systems and Treatment Technologies, is a three-year collaborative project. It works under a consortium of seven European organizations and universities and seven Indian members, headed by NEERI which also includes the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). "NaWaTech is based on optimized use of surface water supply, rain water, storm water as well as grey water," said DB Panse, director Ecosan Services Foundation.

As per Panse added, NaWaTech's largest project has been implemented at the College of Engineering Pune campus. The second site where NaWaTech has been implemented is the 400-acre towship, Amanora Park Town.

Mangesh Dighe, head of environment cell head of PMC, said, "One such system has been installed at the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran office in Pune. The water will supplied to the Indradhanushya centre, Sachin Tendulkar Park and a public toilet near Ambil odha." He also said that the PMC environment cell with the garden department will visit areas of the city to see which river, nullah and lake can be tapped for wastewater treatment project.

This News is Originally Posted on TIME OF INDIA

Water sector development should get top priority among urban bodies: VIL CMD Arun Lakhani

Arun Lakhani, CMD, Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd

Arun Lakhani, CMD of leading water management player Vishvaraj Industries, complimented Prime Minister Narender Modi led government for taking host of initiatives for conservation, harvesting, recycling and treatment of scarce water and said sustainable efforts for water sector is a must in the face of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. “Urban local bodies are however constrained by the fund shortage and are not taking the water sector projects to the level desired,” he said participating in a seminar “Challenges of Water Supply and Sanitation for Urban and Rural Areas” on the occasion of India Water Week, 2016, inaugurated by Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti.

Arun Lakhani, Said that India requires a staggering over US$ 45 Billion investment for improvement in the water sector and industry should become a partner to the government for this national cause. “Carriage and treatment of waste water is being overlooked by the local bodies and doesn’t get the due importance. The need for sustainable development of water sector cannot be over looked.,

” he said and voiced a word of caution that water cannot and should not be merely treated as an economic commodity as it is the basic right of human being and is deeply embodied in the social fabric of the community.” The seminar on the second day of the Water Week was attended by large segment of government officials, water management players and industry leaders.

A session on case study presentation was organized by FICCI where eminent speaker from the water industry presented their views and solutions pertaining to water sector. The speakers present at the case study presentation were Arun Lakhani, CMD Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd, Pradeep Suri Chairman, IL&FS Water Ltd and Chairman FICCI’s National Executive Committee on Urban Infrastructure and Smart Cities, Dinesh Chand, Additional Advisor for Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, M.S. Agarwal, Retd Chairman, GRMB, Siddhartha Prakash, Sr Operations officer, International Finance Corporation, IFC.

Best practices from companies across industries were shared along with strategic keynote presentations by industry stalwarts who play an integral role in the field of water sustainability in India. The importance of risk management and mitigation was stressed upon at the conference; this is crucial for the longevity of any sectors sustainability and collaboration is the way forward to address radical and frequent changes in the externalities of ecosystem.

The event was inaugurated by Uma Bharti Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said that Water Resources are the prime input to the growth and prosperity of a nation and Films can prove to be an effective tool of communication to spread the message of water conservation. Vishvaraj industries is a pioneer player in treating waste water for household consumption and created a showcased project in Nagpur to supply water to more than half of winter capital of Maharashtra nearly 15 years ago and is now providing consultancy to various Urban Local Bodies and policy maker in efficient use of water technology.

This News is Originally Posted on INDIAINFOLINE

VIL CMD Arun Lakhani