The BJP-led coalition government at the centre has taken firm steps to resolve the water crisis. This government wants that drinking water should reach every household. We also want that it should be sustainable. Although we are passing through a very crucial phase but very soon we will overcome the crisis and will be able to provide good quality drinking water to the entire population.

80% of the total water resources are dedicated to irrigation in this country. In a country like India where agriculture is the backbone of the economy, irrigation is topmost priority for the government. We will try our best to provide uninterrupted water supply for irrigation in India.

Currently the Parliament is considering and reviewing an "Integrated Water Policy". It will take some time but we will surely come out with vision statement, which will be easy for implementation. This government will not leave any opportunity to provide relief to the drought affected areas.

At present, I do not have the exact figures but yes, the government through various agencies is trying to provide every kind of relief for those states facing drought. Department of Agriculture, Department of Urban Development, and Water Resources Ministry all are doing their bit to resolve the crisis.

Submit (within 10 days) a list alongwith the names and addresses of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPI) discharging their effluents into rivers and lakes which have not taken requisite measures for meeting the respective effluent standards prescribed; and direct the defaulting industries to take necessary action for effluent treatment within 3 months failing which closure notices shall be issued against the defaulting industries.

Data received from the SPCBs/PCCs in response to the above directions were compiled and discussed in a meeting taken by the Hon’ble MoEF for follow-up actions to be taken by SPCBs/PCCs. As a follow up of the decisions taken in the meeting, the Chairman CPCB also constituted four Regional Expert Committees for the Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern Regions to : (I) monitor the compliance of directions issued by the CPCB and directions to industries issued by the concerned SPCBs/PCCs; and (ii) for compliance of the directions and to recommend the extension of the time, if any.

The four Regional Committees reviewed the progress made in implementation of the programme through organisation of meetings with the concerned SPCBs/PCCs at various locations in the country. The important decisions taken in these meetings which were also communicated to the various Boards/Committees for implementation include (i) the industries where the commissioning of ETPs are going on satisfactorily are to be given a reasonable time extension, (ii) the industries which have neither shown sufficient progress nor complying with the standards are to be issued closure notices, (iii) the industries which are closed are to be directed not to restart till they provide requisite ETPs,

and (iv) the industries where there is no ETP are to be issued confirmed orders for their closure with immediate effect.

Further actions on the basis of the recommendations were taken by the SPCBs/PCCs.

VA Tech, a major Austrian engineering group is the holding company which has three main divisions i.e. the meteorological group, the hydropower group with transmission, distribution and power generation and the water treatment group. VA Tech Wabag is the water treatment arm of VA Tech. The company was established only a year before. But the experience of VA Tech is almost 80 years old. Wabag and VA Tech merged last year out of which this water treatment arm called VA Tech Wabag was carved out.

The activities that we undertake are very large in number. We have a complete portfolio in water treatment from wastewater treatment to solutions for the municipalities or industries of all kind. We have surface water treatment technology for the protection of industrial and potable water. We have invented the desalination technology for seawater. It is done both by thermal technology and membrane separation technology. We are one of the few companies in the world who have this in-house desalination technology.

We are operating offices in Chennai and Delhi. We will soon open an office in Mumbai. We have a very good experience of doing business in India. We have valuable references here and we are establishing a municipal wastewater treatment plant for Reliance Petroleum, which is the largest in the South East Asia. We are also executing

After successfully promoting water recycling for industry, water treatment major Ion Exchange India Ltd. has introduced water recycle systems for the domestic sector in an effort to help end the perennial water shortages in cities.

Aimed at the urban domestic sector, which consumes 80 per cent of water supplies, the company’s sullage recycle systems are ideal for residential colonies as well as hotels, hospitals and large institutions. Sullage (water from kitchens and bathrooms) is treated and recycled for toilet flushing and gardening, reducing the requirement of fresh water by 60 percent, and hence make fresh water available for drinking, cooking, bathing and laundry.

The company’s sullage recycle system is compact, economical and easy to implement in new buildings as well as existing buildings. All it needs is an underground RCC tank to receive sullage, treatment equipment, and an overhead tank for receiving the recycled purified water and minimal connecting piping. The process of recycling is

water treatment plans for Nalco and Mitsubishi in India. We are trying to gain more business from the Indian market. The size of the market is quite big and we can always tap good business here.

We have been trying to expand our business in India. We already have a staff of 95 people in the Chennai office. We are getting indications of business from Jamnagar and Haldia, which are big industrial towns. Municipalities, industries, government bodies are potential customers for VA Tech here.

We are headquartered at Austria. We are operating in almost all the continents. We are trying to provide soft loans from Austria. We can provide export credit loans from Austria, Germany, Italy, and Canada or from any of our offices throughout the world. We are targeting at a business of INR 1 Billion for this financial year for India.

simple. Sullage from the kitchens and bathrooms is collected in an underground tank where the water is treated by coagulation, filtration and disinfection.

Commenting on the company’s pioneering effort Mr. Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director says, population, industrialisation and pollution are putting pressure on our limited fresh water resources. There is a limit to increasing water supply. The best way to solve this scarcity is by conserving water and recycling it wherever possible. Recycling must be made mandatory for all new projects industrial or domestic. It should be promoted for existing buildings also."

Setting an example, Ion Exchange India is operating a sullage recycle system at its training centre in Panchgani. The sullage recycle system, with a capacity of 1800 litres/day, treats and recycles water for toilet flushing and gardening.

CS: "CMB, Austria manufactures this machine. The microwave technology insures short cycle time that is just about 20 minutes. It is much faster than the normal machines of this kind. Another advantage of this system is that it can be operated non-stop.

NL: We have recently launched this hi-tech, sophisticated equipment in India. Currently we do not have much business in hands but we have a large list of potential customers who have shown their willingness in such machines.

India acceded to the Montreal Protocol in 1992. India’s per capita consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances is at present less than 3 grams and did not cross 20 gms between 1995-1997 as against 3000 gms permitted under the Protocol. India is self sufficient in production of clorofluorocarbons (CFCs). India commonly produces and uses seven of the 20 substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol. These are CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-13, Halon-1301, Carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform.

In 1993, India prepared a detailed India Country Programme (CP) to phase out the ODS in accordance with its national industrial development strategy. The CP also ensured that the phase out will be done without undue economic burden to both consumers and industry and provided India the opportunity to access the Protocol’s Financial Mechanism. At present an excerise is underway, in consultation with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to update the Country Programme.

The main objective of the Country Programme have been to minimise economic dislocation as a result of conversion to non-ODS technology, maximise indigenous production, give preference to one time replacement, emphasize decentralised management and minimise obsolescence.

The Government of India has entrusted the work relating to ozone layer protection and implementation of the Montreal Protocol to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) which is the coordinating Ministry in India for all matters relating to the Montreal Protocol. The MoEF has set up an Ozone Cell as a national unit to look after and render necessary services to implement the Protocol and its ODS phase out programme in India. The MoEF has also established an Empowered Steering Committee, which is supported by three Standing Committees, namely the Technology and Finance Standing Committee, Committee for Small Scale Industry and Monitoring and Evaluation Committee and is responsible for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol provisions, review of various policy and implementation options, project approvals and project monitoring.