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.

Arun Lakhani - A Force of change

As individual citizens we often look at India and wonder what can each of us do for the betterment of our nation. As a rapidly developing country we face numerous issues regarding infrastructure, food, water and sanitation. Depending on the government alone is not enough as we all must play a large role in bringing about change.

There are those who we can look towards for inspiration, those who in their own humble way have worked hard towards creating a great impact across the country. The chairman and Managing Director of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd, Mr. Arun Lakhani is one such individual. Integrating the best qualities of the profit-oriented corporate world with the social objectives of the government, he has initiated positive change and a new era of Public Private Partnerships, a model that has existed for decades but has only recently been implemented with great business acumen and dedication.

An engineer by education, Mr. Lakhani is a change maker at heart, using his B.Sc from Amravati and M.Tech in Petro chemicals to develop ideas, manage projects and create a better environment for the Common Man.

His planning and management skills were developed at the start of his career when he entered the software writing and data processing sector. His yearning to work in public spaces and his entrepreneurial spark were both kindled when he started his own company, Mahagas. As India was decentralizing the LPG sector, Mahagas emerged as one of the first private sector supplier.

“The journey through my career and various roles has taught me that at the heart of every successful endeavour there are passionate and dedicated people. Only when we choose to work together do we prosper”, believes Mr. Lakhani.

With this attitude and a vision for greater heights, he went on to acquire and develop Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited. Today the company is known for its expertise in the field of giant infrastructural projects, maintaining a steady record for quality and timeliness. In a short span, Mr. Arun Lakhani steered the company towards his dream to contribute to the nation. He targeted one of the largest problems being faced by India, the lack of clean water and the management of waste water.

VishvarajInfrastructre is one of the leading private companies in the water sector. They have ventured in to water supply projects, water conservation initiatives and waste water management systems. They are on the verge of working with several state municipalities and Mr. Lakhani, who is a great supporter of Public Private Partnerships, participates in several conferences and seminars.

“We can’t sit back and wait for the powers that be to take action. We must come together and make a collective effort. The growth of India depends on everybody and not just one government or a few corporates”, states Mr. Lakhani.

In order to understand the vastness of his plans and the high standards of quality he envisions, one need only look at the work being carried out by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited in Nagpur. 24x7 water supply is today a reality in Nagpur and waste water is being recycled, reused and even generating revenue.

With success stories such as the one unfolding in Nagpur, several states and cities have already begun signing PPP agreements, especially in the water supply and waste water treatment sectors. Punjab, Haryana, Panchkula, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Karnal are some of these. If credit is due, then a great part of it must be given to the man working tirelessly behind the scene, the chairman of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited.

“I hope to someday witness more and more Indian citizens benefitting from the collaboration between the government and private sector companies. Water is one of the most important resources we have but there are several other challenges that need to be resolved and these present a great opportunity for the new generation of entrepreneurs”, advises Mr. Lakhani.