Arun Lakhani Wins Award For His Role In Water Contribution
At the recent World Water Leadership Congress & Awards, Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL), won two big awards. The company won the presitigious Water Reuse Project of the Year and Mr Arun Lakhani, VIL’s chairman and managing director won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Water.
This award clearly highlights VIL’s contribution to water and waste water management. Over the years, water privatisation has become a very political issue. Its, a shame really, when you consider that better water distribution would reduce tension resulting out of water scarcity. Yet, these issues have not been deterred VIL. This includes ventures into water distribution on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis.
But even with this victory, there are many barriers. Despite low levels of service, the arguments against the idea of continuous 24x7 water have been growing strong. Worries of not having enough water in a water-scarce country to supply continuous water, the cost is too much when so many people are poor, tariffs are already too low and intermittent power supply affecting water supply. Clearly our cities are growing too quickly to support continuous water, but if we don’t play a part, it would be far worse.
Most of the concerns presented have no foundations, like if private players are in the sector, folks would face water supply shortage, permitting private players to only supply to those with the highest fee . Allegations like this are completely baseless as private firms, like VIL, would only be involved in making tap water connections available to all houses and metering them, while fees and tariffs would be decided by the concerned municipal body.
There needs to be a realisation that inclusive development of the underprivileged with water being available at the doorstep, would save time wasted at public taps earlier. More relevantly, it improve health of citizens
In spite of all these apprehensions, successful continuous water supply projects in India like Nagpur and other projects which followed have broken the myth of infeasibility of 24x7 water supply projects in India. To summarize, today the problem is more of water management inefficiencies than water scarcity. The focus should be on improving the efficiencies in water usage and better management of assets and services.
Vishvaraj Infrastructure provides global solutions that contribute to sustainable development in the water sector through innovation in the design, construction and operation of drinking water treatment plants, distribution system reforms, etc. The Company has executed or in execution projects worth approximately Rs 27,500 million across the three sectors primarily through PPP contracting and few through EPC route.
This award clearly highlights VIL’s contribution to water and waste water management. Over the years, water privatisation has become a very political issue. Its, a shame really, when you consider that better water distribution would reduce tension resulting out of water scarcity. Yet, these issues have not been deterred VIL. This includes ventures into water distribution on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis.
But even with this victory, there are many barriers. Despite low levels of service, the arguments against the idea of continuous 24x7 water have been growing strong. Worries of not having enough water in a water-scarce country to supply continuous water, the cost is too much when so many people are poor, tariffs are already too low and intermittent power supply affecting water supply. Clearly our cities are growing too quickly to support continuous water, but if we don’t play a part, it would be far worse.
Most of the concerns presented have no foundations, like if private players are in the sector, folks would face water supply shortage, permitting private players to only supply to those with the highest fee . Allegations like this are completely baseless as private firms, like VIL, would only be involved in making tap water connections available to all houses and metering them, while fees and tariffs would be decided by the concerned municipal body.
There needs to be a realisation that inclusive development of the underprivileged with water being available at the doorstep, would save time wasted at public taps earlier. More relevantly, it improve health of citizens
In spite of all these apprehensions, successful continuous water supply projects in India like Nagpur and other projects which followed have broken the myth of infeasibility of 24x7 water supply projects in India. To summarize, today the problem is more of water management inefficiencies than water scarcity. The focus should be on improving the efficiencies in water usage and better management of assets and services.
Vishvaraj Infrastructure provides global solutions that contribute to sustainable development in the water sector through innovation in the design, construction and operation of drinking water treatment plants, distribution system reforms, etc. The Company has executed or in execution projects worth approximately Rs 27,500 million across the three sectors primarily through PPP contracting and few through EPC route.
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