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 - Man on a Mission

In 2015, India as a nation is enjoying exponential growth and establishing itself as one of the most successful economies. The Indian government now faces the challenge of providing infrastructure services and assets needed to maintain momentum. Electricity, new highways and water supply are just some of these. Even with 2013-2014 witnessing a gross tax collection of ₹13.64 trillion (US$210 billion) India struggles to create adequate systems. Funds raised through taxes and regulatory fees are massive yet limited, due to multiple expenses such as scientific research, agricultural support and military defence, to name a few.

Water scarcity and the management of waste water are especially pressing issues. Millions of Indian citizens suffer from a lack of access to clean drinking water. With the second largest population in the world, the problem is only expected to grow. By 2050 India will over take China’s population, when it is expected to reach 1.6 billion people. With a growing population, comes the stress associated with it. A massive agricultural sector to support food requirements, a growing economy to sustain the livelihood of citizens and the need for drinking water will only place a larger burden on quickly dwindling water bodies.

There is much to be done and the government is quickly realizing that Indian companies will play a large role in the coming years. Public Private Partnership models are being adopted across the country to solve a plethora of issues. With appropriate regulation, monitoring and political will the Indian government can give the Indian Infrastructure scenario the boost it needs to support our growing nation and compete with other first world countries.

In sphere of PPPs, one man's record stands out as an example of what can be achieved. Mr. Arun Lakhani, MD of Vishvaraj has evolved in to one of India’s leading experts and has successfully implemented water supply and waste water management projects.

He is the man behind Nagpur 24x7 water supply project. Nagpur, due to rapid urbanisation across the last two decades, has faced severe water supply challenges. The availability of water has been highly inconsistent ranging from a few hours a day to  a few minutes . Mismanagement of water distribution lead up to losses of up to 60%. Quality of water was frequently found to be bellow drinking standards.

In 2012, in order to face this gigantic challenge the Nagpur Municipal Corporation chose to enter in to a Public Private Partnership, a landmark move in the history of the Government working hand-in-hand with the private sector. Nagpur essentially opened it’s doors and mind to an opportunity

that would help build a streamlined and efficient model which could be replicated in the future.

Nagpur became the first city in India to build a 24/7, fully pressurised drinking water supply system. A joint venture company aptly named Orange City Water was created and entered a concussion contract under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM).

When asked about challenges faced, Mr. Lakhani said “Let challenges be a learning opportunity and not a reason to stop the development of our nation”. PPPs create several benefits such as access to additional resources, investments and stat-of-the-art technology. Mr. Lakhani wants to apply these benefits to several problems faced by India.

“Governments worldwide are increasingly turning to the private sector to help provide services in communication, energy and power, water and transport sectors. Streamlined and efficient methods usually adopted by corporates are the reason for this”, claims Mr. Arun Lakhani.

Reduced cost in the form of better executed planning and development of each project is large benefit that is often considered. A profitability approach ensures better screening of options, structuring of projects and choice of technology.

“The Indian Government can benefit from an increase in services, without spending immediate cash, avoiding major risks by transferring them to the private sector and ensuring timely delivery of projects”,  added Mr. Lakhani.

With success stories such as the one unfolding in Nagpur, it is time to apply what we have learnt to other parts of India. In fact, as of 2015 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.

Haryana and Punjab plan to implement state-of-the-art water supply systems and water waste management protocols. Mr. Lakhani believes in empowering the private sector in India and strongly advocates that PPPs would improve efficiency in water systems ,water treatment plants and in the reuse of water. With a track record such as his, it would be wise to pay heed to his advise and take a closer look at his proposed solutions.