The population of India is estimated to reach between 1.5 1.8 billion by the year 2050. The UN agencies have put the figure at 1.64 billion. It is now generally accepted that the countries with annual per-capita water availability of less than 1,700 cubic metre (m3) are water stresses and less than 1000 cubic metre as water annually by 2050 to be above the water stress zone and 1,650 b.c.m. to avoid being a scarce country.

The average annual surface water flows in India has been estimate as 1869 b.c.m. of which only 690 b.c.m. can be utilized if appropriate storages can be treated. The reason for this vast difference between potential (1869 b.c.m.) and the conditional availability (690 b.c.m. if it can be stored) has been well recognized the monsoonic climate, besides topographical and geological limitations.

In addition to surface to surface water, there is a dynamic (rechargeable) groundwater resource. Its potential has been estimated as 432 b.c.m. including recharge due to canal irrigation. This means that the total water availability would be 2301 b.c.m. in 2050 or the per-capita availability of 1403 cubic metre. The country will be water stressed even if the total available water is taken into account. For feeding a population of 1.64 billion, nearly 450 million tones of food grains would be required in 2050, production of which would be a gigantic task considering the constraints being faced in the irrigation sector.

Access of safe drinking water is still a distant reality for most of the population, especially in rural areas. It is estimated that half of the population in the country may be living in urban areas by the year 2050. Most of these urban areas will have multiple water related problems. The above problems faced by the country in the area of water resources development and management necessitate conservation measures to meet the demands for irrigation in arid and draught prone areas and in water deficit basins and to meet the requirements of domestic water supply in the ever expanding urban areas and for industry.

Process of conservation may be synonymous of preservation against loss or waste. Technically, conservation of water implies the same meaning in a much wider perspective. Briefly stated it means putting the water resources of the country for the best beneficial use with all the technologies at our command.

Water conservation basically aims at matching demand and supply. The strategies for water conservation may be either demand oriented or supply oriented and/or management oriented. The strategies may vary depending upon the field of water use domestic, irrigation or industrial.

A large number of river valley projects, both multipurpose and irrigation have spilled over from one plan to another plan mainly because of financial constraints and problem relating to land acquisition, forest clearance and rehabilitation of affected persons. As a result, a huge amount of investment already made on these projects has not yielded any tangible result. About 162 Major projects, 240 Medium projects and 74 Extension, Renovation and Modernisation (ERM) of old projects are spilling over to the Ninth Plan.

On farm irrigation, the practices prevailing in the country result in wastage of water leading to poor irrigation efficiency. The absence of field channels forcing adoption of field irrigation adds to the problem.

Improved methods or irrigation, like sprinkler and drip, are being recommended for achieving higher irrigation efficiencies. Sprinklers tend to irrigate more uniformly than gravity, to irrigate more uniformly than gravity systems and, therefore, efficiencies typically average about 70%.

Saline water is widely available but rarely used for agriculture because it restricts plant growth and yield. Salt resistant varieties of crops have also been developed in recent times.

Transfer of water from surplus basins by creating storage at appropriate locations and inter-linking various systems is yet another strategy for increasing the benefits considerably.

To augment the depletion of fresh water resources in coastal areas due to excessive abstraction, desalination like distillation, electro-dialysis and reverse osmosis are available. Selection and use of these processes are site specific.

Water conservation measures in industries should include: (iI) review of alternate production processes and technologies from water consumption point of view; (ii) ensuring sound plant maintenance practices and good house keeping, minimising spills and leaks; and (iii) optimisation of treatment to achieve maximum recycling.

The two governments, noting progress made in these collaborative projects, and recognising the immense opportunities for fruitful cooperation in the energy sector, have decided to further enhance their cooperation in the areas of conventional energy projects, renewable energy, clean coal technology, energy efficiency and related environmental aspects.

The two countries also recognise that future development of the energy sector must take into account the growing demand of energy, the importance of judicious utilization of limited resources of the planet in the most efficient and equitable manner and the need to protect our environment.

India, which was the first country to establish a full-fledged Ministry for Non-Conventional Energy Resources, is working to make renewable energy sources a viable and significant part of India’s energy supply.

The US is taking several major initiatives to meet its energy requirements in an increasingly climate-friendly manner. For example, the US government has set a goal of tripling US use of bio-energy and bio-projects by 100 million by 2010 which will reduce the Green House Gas emissions by 100 million MT of carbon. The US government has ordered every federal agency to reduce GHG emissions from building 30% by 2010 from 1990 levels.

The two governments, in the spirit that characterises their own initiatives to mitigate the impact of energy production on environment and climate, accord high importance to these aspects in their bilateral energy cooperation.

The two countries also resolve to work together with each-other and with other countries, in keeping with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, to advance the goal of protecting the people from the threat of climate change, while promoting economic growth.

As the world’s largest GHG emitter, the US recognises its responsibilities to help lead international efforts to address the challenge of climate change. The Kyoto Protocol sets forth a binding emission target for the US, which would result in a reduction of roughly 30% from the projected level in 2008-2012.

Government of India recognises the need for voluntary "no-regrets measures" at the national level, which will have the additional benefits of dealing with air and water pollution, urban transportation and other important sectors of the domestic economy.

The governments of the two countries agree to cooperate and to work together in appropriate forums for advancing the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in accordance with the decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the UN in its various sessions.

Both the governments also agree to cooperate within the framework of the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC to work towards early agreement on the elements of the Kyoto Mechanisms.

Both governments, guided by the objective of using the immense opportunities and their vast pool of resources and skills for fruitful cooperation in the energy sector, in both bilateral and international context, resolve to take appropriate measures to foster private sector, in both bilateral and international context, resolve to take appropriate measures to foster private sector energy ventures, cooperation in R & D, and greater utilization of environment - enhancing and climate friendly energy sources and technology for balanced and sustainable economic development.
                                                                                                                                     Courtesy : Katie McGinty and Karl Hausker

In this plant, energy is recovered from dewatered sewage sludge cake with a dry substance of 25%. The advantages of sludge co-firing at a power station include: low cost, security, no requirement of drying equipment, works with both undigested and digested sludge, availability of well trained and experienced personnel from power station and inbuilt flue gas cleaning facilities.

The Heilbronn power station provides 760 MW power and operates at mid load factor. The pant is equipped with coal dust combustion with dry ash extraction. The station is also equipped with a state-of-the-art SCR-DeNox plant using electric precipitation technology and a new desulphurisation plant based on the limestone/gypsum method for the treatment of flue gases.

Officials of CMB Engineers (Christ of Group), Austria and their exclusive representatives in India, AMEXP Waste Management Pvt Ltd, Mumbai today announced their cooperation and intention to provide safe and environmentally sound biomedical waste treatment devices in India. "We have put together a team of companies that have the experience, technology and financial strength to provide a state-of-the-art solution for the medical community" said Naresh Lalvani, president of AMEXP.

CMB Engineers, Austria is the manufacturer of the Sintion 1.1 disinfection device. This device is a patented combination of both microwave and saturated steam disinfection in a single unit. It ensures that infectious biomedical waste is safely turned into normal waste in an effective, cheap and environmentally friendly manner. "There is no technology like it in the world. It has made biomedical waste treatment a reality," said Ms. Carmen Spinotti, International Sales Manager of CMB Engineers.

In our country garbage is treated only as a dumping material. Dumping of garbage creates

Pollution in underground water, it emits Green House Gases (GHG) like CH4 and CO2 and gives birth to flies, insects and rats that are harmful to both human property and agricultural crops.

The existing scenario will not continue for long due to pressure from the public, judicial bodies and international communities. The process of Solid Waste Management (SWM) was started in India only because of the active intervention of the Supreme Court.

The developed world is now very concerned with the rapid recovery of gases emitted from waste. Many European countries have taken strict measures to curb land-fills with non-biodegradable waste. ’Waste to Energy’ is a popular alternative being practiced by private enterprise with the help of governments in the developed European countries.

Municipal corporations in India will have to dispose off their waste after proper treatment. Control of GHGs will become unavoidable. Municipal bodies will have to spend more on waste management, as segregation will be a norm and not a choice. This segregation will result in resource management.

Today there are two types of compost disposal plants. One is the enclosed reactor based system and the other is the open disposal system.

Compost plants have some disadvantages. For example, they do not control GSG emissions. It cannot prevent the pollutants from going into

the soil. It also emits leachate, which pollutes ground water. The ’enclosed reactor system is more efficient and clean but is not promoted because of high costs.

’Waste to Energy’ has not proved useful in India. The only experience here was a failed plant in Delhi. Compost plants in India have attracted protests by the public and a Public Interest Litigation case has been filed in Thane, Maharashtra.

Municipal solid waste contains organic and inorganic substances. The latent energy present in the organic matter can be recovered and used for various purposes. The urban municipal waste and industrial waste has a potential of generating 1000 MW and 700 MW electricity per annum respectively.

During 1996, tests with 3700 tonnes of dried and dewatered sludge, which made up 4% of the boiler capacity, were conducted at the plant. The plant received approval to co-combust dried sludge on 16 February 1998 and dewatered sludge on the 3 July of the same year. This permitted the combustion of 40,000 dry tonnes of sludge per year.

Dewatered cake is added to the mill coal supply. The boiler/mill airing system is designed to dry the coal as it is pulverised. The only thermodynamic limit on the mill’s evaporate capacity is the design of the air heaters. Hence the co-combustion percentage is dependent on the moisture content of the coal and sludge. The co-combustion made no environmental impact on the quality of emissions from the power station.

The benefits of co-combustion are that it is environmentally acceptable renewable energy, it has a secured recycling route, it provides a low cost solution, needs short time for planning and project timescales, and the sludge producers are free of technological risks.

The cooperation between CMB Engineers (over 1000 million employees and US$100 turnover) and AMEXP Waste Management offers attractive and flexible payment plans which can be adapted individually. Over 150 qualified technicians and engineers will serve the clients in India.

At present CMB & AMEXP are working on several government tenders as well as private placements of the SINTION 1.1 system and expect rapid growth over the next three years. Understanding the needs and potential of the marketplace, they are planning to invest sufficient funds that will meet the much awaited requirement of the country’ s health care community and the demands for a safe, clean and effective solution to the disposal of biomedical waste in India.

1. Pending in the Hon ble Supreme Court 24

2. Compliance reported by the industries CPCB and SPCBs to inspect and verify  the status 64

3. Under the process of commissioning requisite pollution control facilities as  per the time- frame given to the industries 67

The defaulting units are in the process of installing the requisite pollution control facilities. The CPCB and State Pollution Control Board (SPCBs) / Pollution Control Committees (PCC) regularly monitor the status of pollution control in these industries.

State wise summary of Status of pollution control in the 17 categories of industries as on 15th November 1998 is given in Table-9.

Based on the inspection reports, following are the status of installation of treatment facilities for biomedical waste in Delhi.

No. of hospitals which have installed incinerator      9

No. of hospital which have installed autoclave         1

No. of hospitals where incinerators are either old     10
Or not in good condition

No. of hospitals which have installed incinerator       4
But yet to be commissioned

No. of hospitals where incinerators are under installation 4