Multi stakeholder approach of water management to make India water secure: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti

Mar 02, 2022

NEW DELHI, 2 March 2022: Mr Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, Govt of India while delivering the Inaugural Address at FICCI's 7th edition of India Industry Water Conclave and 9th edition of FICCI Water Awards today mentioned that every drop of water is precious, every drop of recycled water is generation of another drop of water.

He mentioned that Jal Shakti is Jan Andolan - Every scheme and mission will only be successful with community awareness and participation and the government is extensively working towards this. He emphasized on importance of recycle and reuse of wastewater and grey water to be used for agriculture, horticulture, groundwater recharge or other non-potable water uses. 

'In this transformational era, to address the gap between water availability and water requirement, focus on multi stakeholder approach to water management which includes government, corporates and community plays an important role and everyone should take their responsibility to make our country water secure,' Mr Shekhawat said. 

He added transformation will come from youth of this country who can transform the mindset of older generations and masses towards water conservation. 

He congratulated all the awardees of the 9th edition of FICCI Water Awards and FICCI to connect the dots between 'Purusharth, Parishram and Parinam'.

Mr Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt of India said that the use of treated water in irrigation and industrial application is important for effective utilisation of available water resources. He mentioned about the draft National Framework for use of treated water which has been prepared by the NMCG and circulated to the State Governments, Industry associations and other stakeholders for their comments.

He added as the focus is shifting, towards improving the water use efficiency, deployment of sensor technology, measuring devices, plants for treatment of used water, reuse of treated water in irrigation and industry, expansion of drip/sprinkler irrigation and smart integrated water management system are bound to grow and should be harnessed and deployed. These present significant opportunities to the private sector to help improve efficiency in water use in various sectors.

Mr Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI said that actions of industry are towards addressing the mismatch between demand and supply based on certain core principles which are sourcing sustainably, replenishing the groundwater responsibly, using efficiently in production, and recycling and reusing the grey water effectively.  

He mentioned about challenges and key areas for government's consideration. The first challenge is how to make this sector an attractive employment opportunity, how to encourage public private participation in water services and infrastructure projects, introduction of central schemes to incentivize green field sewage treatment plants and Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) on PPP basis for cities, municipalities and MSME clusters. 

Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman, FICCI Water Mission and Past President, FICCI said that Water Management from an ESG perspective is very relevant given that environmental, social and governance metrics are today becoming the most important determinant of a business' ability to be resilient, agile and adaptable in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. As water is paramount for survival, the centrality of water in an ESG agenda becomes pivotal for businesses.

'Given that there is a high exposure to water related risks for all sectors, the importance of considering water related disclosures and detailed water foot printing will help companies understand and mitigate water related potential risks', added Ms Kidwai.

Dr Mihir Shah, Chair, FICCI Water Awards Jury; Distinguished Professor, Shiv Nadar University highlighted the five pillars of sustainable water management on which the National Water Policy is based

1. Need to break down silos within which water is divided 
2. Respect immense diversity of our country and not focus on 'one size fits all' for water 
3. Focus on management and distribution of water rather than construction and extraction. 
4. Highest priority to be given to reuse and recycle of water. 
5. Highest importance to raising people's awareness and people's participation in the management of water  

He said cost effective and nature-based solutions which are sustainable, replicable and people centric can help tackle and address water scarcity and redefine our relationship with nature. 

On this occasion, FICCI released the Compendium of Best Practices: Recognizing Excellence in Water Management & Conservation' 2021 which is the compilation of case studies of winners of 9^th edition of FICCI Water Awards.

9^thEdition of FICCI Water Awards were also announced during the inaugural session. 

Category	Award
Industrial Water Use Efficiency	Tata Steel Limited (Jamshedpur) (First Prize)  Vardhman Fabrics (A Unit of Vardhman Textile Ltd.) (Second Prize)  Asian Paints (Khandala) (Joint Third Prize)  Delhi International Airport Limited (Joint Third Prize)
Innovation in Water Technology	Green Lantern Engineering Private Limited
Water Initiatives by NGO	Himmotthan/Tata Trusts (First Prize)  Biome Environmental Trust (Joint Second Prize)  People's Service Society, Palakkad (Joint Second Prize)  Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) (Joint Second Prize)
Urban Wastewater Management	Primove Infrastructure Development Consultants Private Limited (First Prize)  Center for Water and Sanitation (CWAS) at CRDF, CEPT University (Second Prize)
Best Start-up in Water Innovation	Digital EcoInnovision
Special Jury's Award	National Mission for Clean Ganga

  

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Event

• 7th India Industry Water Conclave and 9th Edition of FICCI Water Awards