VIL See Sewage As A Resource

Just like water, it is time to recognise sewage as a resource.

It hard to fathom sewage anything but waste matter, but Arun Lakhani, chairman and director of Vishvaraj Infrastructures Limited (VIL) believes sewage needs to be looked at as a resource. And as the country is getting ready to develop smart cities it is pertinent to use sewage as a resource  to ensure water security.

In an interview with Business Line, Lakhani said “Sewage is a large resource available within the city which can be treated and used for industrial and commercial purposes. This will result in releasing fresh water for residents which was earlier allocated to industry, creating water security for at least 30-40 years. The government should work towards developing business models so that private players can set up treatment plants.”

The need for clean drinking water is an urgent requirement, but with limited funds, towns are looking to set up more water projects. This, in turn such plans keep sewage projects on the hold. According to Lakhani this is leading to pumping out 38,000 million litres of sewage water daily without any sort of treatment.

Under the banner ‘Orange City Water’, in collaboration with Veolia Group, VIL  has been operating ‘Nagpur 24x7 pressurised water supply scheme’. The project plans to create 24x7 water supply to Maharashtra’s third largest urban state. In it

The scope of the project includes replacement of 300,000 house service connections, rehabilitations of treatment facilities, service reservoirs and pipeline; management of the drinking water cycle, from production, treatment, transport, storage to distribution to the customer's taps; establishing a customer service center to offer round-the-clock assistance and billing and collection of the water charges on behalf of Nagpur Municipal Corporation Project Cost.

At the launch of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart City, the project was showcased as a model case study to other cities. Water and sanitation is among the top three focus areas under the missions.

Apart from a sewage treatment plant in Nagpur, Vishvaraj Infrastructures has projects in Karnataka under which it is supplying 24x7 water supply to five towns namely Bidar, Basavkalyan, Magadi, Shahbad and Yadgir.

VIL 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.