Power sector wakes up to Rs.30k-cr opportunity

More than three months after the tariff policy amendments were unveiled by the government, the power sector is waking up to an obscure provision that has the potential to attract over Rs.30,000-crore investment into sewage water treatment plants around thermal generating stations.

The policy has made it mandatory for thermal plants within 50 km of sewage treatment facilities to use treated sewage water. The policy would ensure availability of more potable water in the areas adjacent to the power plant, the government had said.

“We have started implementing the policy for thermal plants with NTPC’s Nagpur unit being the first to source treated sewage water from the city’s municipal body. Additionally, we have always made extensive plans for groundwater conservation in coal and mineral mining,” power minister Piyush Goyal told reporters.

He added that the government was also looking at making thermal plants along the Ganges use treated water so that the effluent isn’t discharged into the river.

As per industry estimates, nearly 80 gigawatt (GW) of thermal capacity would be covered by the provision. If all these plants source their entire water requirement from sewage treatment plants (STP), it would amount to nearly 8,000 million litres per day (MLD). Typically, a thermal power station requires about 3-5 litres of water to produce one unit of power.

It is estimated that the extra cost for a power plant in procuring this water, including the associated pipeline of average 50-km length, would result in a tariff hike of about 5-7 paise/unit.

“This clause would apply mostly to the Centre and state-owned plants that are located around the periphery of cities and towns,” a top NTPC official told FE. He added that the company had already signed an informal agreement for use of sewage treated water at its plants in Mouda and Solapur in Maharashtra.

The company has been prompt in signing pacts for Maharashtra plants as several state-owned thermal stations have been forced to suspend operations temporarily due to scarcity of water this year.

This practice is likely to take off with NTPC’s involvement in it. The state-run thermal power giant has entered into an agreement with Vishvaraj Infrastructure, a company that has been selected to run Nagpur’s 200-MLD STP in a first public-private partnership project in water treatment.

“We will be supplying 150 MLD to NTPC Mouda plant while we are looking for buyers for remaining 50 MLD supplies,” Arun Lakhani, chairman and managing director of Vishvaraj Infrastructure, told FE. He added that the difficulty in making return on investment on sewage plants had been holding the interested investors at bay.

Most urban centres’ STPs are run by local bodies with grossly inadequate capacity to handle sewage generated by a particular centre. For example, Nagpur alone produces over 500 MLD of sewage water, but the treatment capacity is for only 100 MLD.

“The industry and government are both waking up to the water crisis. We already have the policy from the power ministry that will create incentives for private players to install STPs as buyers would now be available,” Arun Lakhani said.

This New is Originally Posted on THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

Vishvaraj Infrastructure adjudged best PPP operator in Water and Waste Water Sector

Nagpur: While whole of Maharashtra is facing acute shortage of water this summer, Marathwada being worst affected, Nagpur is in much better situation.

Gone are the days when citizens used to try all their sources to get tanker water in their apartments in large number of localities. The change was possible by the organized efforts of Orange City Water (OCW) which is responsible for water supply in the city. The efforts of Vishvaraj which is one of the promoting companies of OCW were recognized at the highest level.

Vishvaraj has been named the most successful PPP operator in water and waste water sector at the Water Digest Water Awards (WDWA) 2015–16. These awards are recognized by UNESCO and supported by Times Network. Arun Lakhani, Chairman and Managing Director of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd, received the award in a ceremony in New Delhi from Chaudhary Birender Singh, Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India.

Also present on the occasion were the jury panel members Dr. Pawan Kumar Labhasetwar – Sr.Principal Scientist, CSIR – NEERI, Anshuman – TERI (Associate Director), R.K. Gupta – CMD – WABCOS, Dr KM Chacko – Director Sriram Institute, Satish Mallick, Consultant – Water and Waste Water, Dr. Ram Bhoojh – UNESCO, Dr. Jagdish Kumar Bassin – Retd Chief Scientist & Head, CSIR – NEERI.

Speaking on the occasion Lakhani said, “We at Vishvaraj Infrastructure are honored to receive this prestigious recognition. We dedicate this award to the people of Nagpur, Officials of Nagpur Municipal Corporation and also the politicians from the city cutting across the party lines, who cooperated with us in bringing the change in the water supply system in Nagpur. We have tried our best to communicate with the people through various mediums and we will continue to do so. We have still not achieved our goal but are on the right path of reaching there. People will appreciate that the project of this size and nature is not attempted anywhere in India so far and we are privileged to do it first time in Nagpur. We have wonderful people in the city who have supported us so far and we need your continued support for few more years and we assure you the best of the class water supply system in the country. We wish to receive all of your ideas and suggestions which will guide us to perform better.”

It is worth mentioning here that the “Nagpur 24×7 water supply project through PPP mode” was also selected as “National Best Practice of India” and was appreciated by the Prime Minister in front of 500 mayors and commissioners during inauguration of Smart City and AMRUT scheme on 25th June 2015.

“Best Water and Waste Water PPP operator award” is another feather in the cap for the Nagpur based company and it is bringing Nagpur on the National and International map by showcasing its path breaking initiatives. Representatives of the many multi-national companies and city planners across India are regular visitors of Nagpur water projects and appreciate the efforts of the NMC and the company.

This News is Originally Posted on NAGPUR TODAY

Vishvaraj Infrastructure’s Arun Lakhani bags 2 prestigious awards at World Water Leadership Congress

Nagpur/Mumbai: Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd, which is heading Orange City Waters – Nagpur’s core Water Supply Manager, has managed to bring some moments of proud to the city. In the recently held World Water Leadership Congress and Awards in Mumbai, the company headed by Arun Lakhani has managed to make the cut with two prestigious awards.

While Arun Lakhani, Chairman and Managing Director, Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd has been individually honoured with World Water Leadership Awards for his Outstanding Contribution towards Water, his company Vishvaraj Infrastructure bagged the award for Best Water Reuse Project.

Overwhelmed with the double honor, Arun Lakhani shared his warm greetings with Nagpur Today.

Talking to the e-newspaper, Lakhani congratulated his team saying, “This award is the recognition of my team’s hard work which put in their efforts. Its never a one person, its a team work – Satyajeet, Suresh and all of them. My congratulations to them.”

This New is Originally Posted on Nagpur Today

Nagpur intellectuals say, only healthy talks can resolve Indo-Pak dispute

Nagpur: The NSA level meeting between India and Pakistan appears to be in a mess as the latter’s insistence on inclusion of talks with Kashmiri separatists and Kashmir dispute into the discussion has not gone down with India. Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said that Pakistan’s stand on the talks clearly violates the agreement signed between the two nations way back in 1998. Nagpur Today quizzed few senior journalists from the city and sought their take on resolving the long pending issues between the two nations

‘Diplomacy, a game of Chess’

Prakash Dubey, Group Editor, Dainik Bhaskar said only bilateral discussions can resolve the disputes between both the countries. Pakistan had resorted to such tactics in the past too.

However, noteworthy here is that the national advisors from both the countries have different orientation and backgrounds. India’s Ajit Dobhal belongs to Indian Intelligence Agency whereas his Pakistani counterpart is a politician. Both will be having confrontation for the first time.

Nothing can be said of how the two people from differing affiliations and backgrounds will match their discussion, he said. “Diplomacy is like a game of chess where beating is more important than defeating…Anyways the resolution only lies in discussion.”

Pradip MitraCan be Modi’s gameplan

Another senior journalist Pradeep Maitra said the dispute between India and Pakistan has turned too old and it is high time the two nations should come for the talks across the table. Mutual consent will only resolve the issues rather. Disrupting any talks in between and throwing it under the wraps is wrong.

Both the nations should call for Terror Regulatory Dialogue, he said, adding even if Kashmir is an issue it could be sorted out through talks. “We also need to see it from other perspective too, as it may the case that whatever we are seeing is just a strategy of Narendra Modi’s diplomacy.

The current scheme of things only tarnishes Pakistan’s image on international level, he quipped.

Pak’s internal politics a major hurdle Arun Lakhani

CMD of Orange City Waters and Vishwaraj Infrastructure Ltd., Arun Lakhani also advocates the importance of discussion in order to mend ties between the two nations. “Healthy discussions will be beneficial for both the countries, but Pakistan’s internal politics and instability has been creating hurdles in the way of negotiation.

Now Pakistan should look into the matter more seriously. Only the better bilateral ties will create conducive atmosphere for the healthy relations between both the countries. This will not only improve trade relations but also pave way for the development,” said Lakhani.

This New is Originally Posted on Nagpur Today

Runadhar Trust’s new approach to helping ryots’ kin

Nagpur: To provide stability to family members, especially children, of farmers who have committed suicide, nine prominent persons from the city have come together and established — Runadhar Charitable Society. They plan to establish a hostel and provide skill development training to kin of deceased farmers and monetary assistance every month. 

The nine persons include chairman of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited Arun Lakhani, who is president of the trust, corporator Sandip Joshi and Dr Pramod Giri, both vice-presidents, secretary Parag Saraf, joint-secretary Vrushali Deshpande, treasurer Dr Manoj Singarkhiya, and Dayal Mulchandani, Deepa Kale and Prashant Dani as members.

The society and its activities differ from that been done or planned by other social organizations. The team of nine persons established the trust two years ago. They appointed two students who had completed Master in Social Work and conducted a survey to find out what exactly is the main requirement for family members, especially children, of farmers who committed suicide.

Joshi told TOI the initiatives will begin from Nagpur and Wardha district and later across remaining areas of Vidarbha. "Our team's survey over two years included visits to houses of 350 families of deceased farmers in the two districts. One time or regular monetary assistance was not found to be a permanent solution. We realized the need to encourage and train the kin of deceased farmers to get employment or establish businesses. Therefore, we plan to establish a hostel in which skill development training will be given to only kin of deceased farmers along with accommodation in the city. Hostel project will be completed in current year itself. More activities will be planned 

in later stages," he said.

Joshi added that the project will begin with financial assistance to 100 families of deceased farmers. "We have identified 100 families from 14 tehsils in Wardha district and four tehsils in Nagpur district. We received response from 100 persons wishing to adopt a family each. We will deposit cheque of Rs4,000 per month in the account of all 100 families for one year. Then the initiative will be stopped, as we feel continuous financial assistance is not a solution. This is planned as we have to begin with some concrete step," he said.

The society has organized a programme to begin monetary assistance to 100 families on January 26. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will inaugurate the project and distribute cheques to the identified families.

The plan to begin from Wardha and Nagpur districts also differentiates the society's initiative from others. Most social organizations have started their initiatives in Yavatmal district despite the fact that farmers suicides are also witnessed in other districts of the region.

 This New is Originally Posted on The Time of India