The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has sought the help of the Orissa government for implementation of various water related projects under public-private community partnership (PPCP).
It has suggested formation of a joint task force headed by the chief secretary, Orissa government to implement these projects.
Once the task force is formed, it will seek proposals from the industry for promoting water related projects. The task force will also be involved in approval and implementation of the projects.
“The Rajasthan government has formed a task force headed by the state chief secretary and 6 projects are in different stages of implementation under PPCP mode. CII is keen to replicate such activities in Orissa as well”, S Raghupathy, senior director, India Business Alliance on Water (IBAW) said.
Speaking at a seminar entitled ‘Watercon’ organised by the Orissa state council of the CII, he said, IBAW has been initiated by the CII and World Environment Fund (WEF) with support of UNDP and other international agencies.
It aims to ensure development of sustainable water management and is working on information dissemination. It intends to recognise best practices through water awards, water summits and generate pile line for PPCP projects.
IBAW has delivered a shelf of 25 potential PPCP projects in the water sector and six projects worth Rs 58 crore are in different stages of implementation in Rajasthan. This includes Rs 6 crore watershed project being implemented by ITC and Rs 50 crore desalination project being implemented by Doshi Ion.
Interestingly, the watershed project implemented by ITC at Mandalgarh in Rajasthan covers 5000 hectares of land and is expected to increase the annual income of farmers by about 30 percent.
The cost the project is shared between the government of Rajasthan, ITC and the participating community on 40:40:20 basis and is a win-win situation both for the farmers and the industry, he added.
Chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said, water management is a vital issue for the government and it wants greater community participation in such projects. Appreciating the proposal of CII, Tripathy said, the Orissa government will send officers to Rajasthan to observe the implementation of water related projects there and if found suitable, it may be replicated in the state.
Besides, industry may be roped in as a partner in the Pani Panchayats as it is sourcing water from natural sources like rivers. The required changes in the design and the laws governing Pani Panchayats may be changed to make the industry a stakeholder in the Pani Panchayats.
Stating that technology for minimising the water use by the industry and development of watershed projects are crucial, the chief secretary said, the industry must have a mission and desire to make the required investment. All the thermal units may have a self made regulation for conservation of rain water in their areas of operations, he suggested. S S Nandurdikar, Chairman, CII Orissa Centre, R K Jena, vice-chairman spoke on the occasion.
