conservation of Water Resources

Mar 21, 2022 | Business


Water being a State subject, it is the responsibility of States/UTs and local bodies to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluent before discharging into recipient water bodies or land for prevention and control of pollution therein.




Government of India supplements efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial and technical assistance in abatement of pollution including protection of water resources in the country through various central sector schemes for development of infrastructure for environmentally sound management of generated municipal sewage, industrial effluent and wastes apart from specific schemes such as National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for rejuvenation of polluted rivers, National Lake Conservation Plan for restoration of stagnant water bodies, National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP), AMRUT.




Government of India (GoI), with an aim to prevent water pollution, promulgated Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and various Acts under the umbrella act called ‘Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.  As per the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution), Act 1974, industrial units are required to install Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and treat their effluents to comply with stipulated environmental standards before discharging into river and water bodies. Accordingly, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) in the States or Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in Union Territories, monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take action for non-compliance under provisions empowered under these Acts.




Further, as per the information received from SPCBs/PCCs (including Tamil Nadu SPCB), there are 2,839 Grossly Polluting Industries in the country. Out of these 2,839 industries, 2,186 industries are operational and 653 industries are self-closed. Number of complying and non-complying units are 2,055 and 131 respectively. Show cause notices have been issued to 55 units and closure directions have been issued to 56 units for non-compliance. State-wise status of GPI units in the country is at Annexure-I.




Assessment with regard to the quantum of water being rendered unfit for use every year due to industrial pollution is not carried out by CPCB. However, based on water quality monitoring carried out under National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP), considering Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) as criteria pollutant, in the year 2018, CPCB identified 351 polluted river stretches on 323 rivers on basis of two years’ data of 2016 & 2017 (Annexure – II).




This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written      reply in Lok Sabha today.


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BY/AS




ANNEXURE-I


Compliance Status of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs)












































SPCB/PCC

Total no. of industries

No. of industries closed  by their own

No. of industries operational

No. of industries complying with environmental standards

No. of industries non-complying with environmental standards

No. of industries against which action is  taken for non-complying with environmental standards

Show cause notice issued

Closure directions issued

Legal cases filed

Action under process

Andaman & Nicobar

2

2

1

1

1

Andhra Pradesh

66

11

55

50

5

2

1

2

Arunachal Pradesh

97

8

89

63

26

3

23

Assam








Bihar

84

34

50

50




Chandigarh








Chhattisgarh

2

2

1

1

1

Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli








Delhi

3

3

3




Goa








Gujarat

25

1

24

20

4

3

1

Haryana

627

27

600

594

6

6

Himachal Pradesh








Jammu & Kashmir

69

69

66

3

3


Jharkhand

45

6

39

5

34

14

10

2

8

Karnataka

4

4

4




Kerala

29

1

28

27

1

1

Lakshadweep








Madhya Pradesh

2

2

2




Maharashtra

4

1

3

3




Manipur








Meghalaya

2

2

2




Mizoram








Nagaland








Odisha

6

6

6




Puducherry

3

3

3




Punjab

5

5

4

1

1


Rajasthan

1

1

1




Sikkim








Tamil Nadu








Telangana

3

1

2

2




Tripura








Uttar Pradesh

1,648

560

1,088

1,047

41

22

13

6

Uttarakhand

64

64

60

4

4


West Bengal

48

3

45

41

4

3

1

Total

2,839

653

2,186

2,055

131

55

56

2

18






ANNEXURE-II




State-wise & Priority wise number of Polluted River Stretches






































S. No.

STATE/UNION TERRITORY

PRIORITY

Grand Total

I

II

III

IV

V

1

ANDHRA PRADESH

–

–

–

2

3

5

2

ASSAM

3

1

4

3

33

44

3

BIHAR

–

–

1

–

5

6

4

CHHATTISGARH

–

–

–

4

1

5

5

DAMAN, DIU AND DADRA NAGAR HAVELI

1

–

–

–

–

1

6

DELHI

1

–

–

–

–

1

7

GOA

–

–

1

2

8

11

8

GUJARAT

5

1

2

6

6

20

9

HARYANA

2

–

–

–

–

2

10

HIMACHAL PRADESH

1

1

1

–

4

7

11

JAMMU & KASHMIR

–

1

2

2

4

9

12

JHARKHAND

–

–

–

3

4

7

13

KARNATAKA

–

–

4

7

6

17

14

KERALA

1

–

–

5

15

21

15

MADHYA PRADESH

3

1

1

3

14

22

16

MAHARASHTRA

9

6

14

10

14

53

17

MANIPUR

–

1

–

–

8

9

18

MEGHALAYA

2

–

–

3

2

7

19

MIZORAM

–

–

1

3

5

9

20

NAGALAND

1

–

1

2

2

6

21

ODISHA

1

–

3

2

13

19

22

PUDUCHERRY

–

–

–

1

1

2

23

PUNJAB

2

–

–

1

1

4

24

RAJASTHAN

–

–

1

–

1

2

25

SIKKIM

–

–

–

–

4

4

26

TAMIL NADU

4

–

–

1

1

6

27

TELANGANA

1

2

2

2

1

8

28

TRIPURA

–

–

–

–

6

6

29

UTTAR PRADESH

4

–

1

2

5

12

30

UTTARAKHAND

3

1

1

4

–

9

31

WEST BENGAL

1

1

3

4

8

17

Grand Total

45

16

43

72

175

351


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Big Water Marina and Campground Hosts Annual Polar Bear Plunge

Feb 24, 2022 | Business

 On Saturday, February 26, 2022, Big Water Marina and Campground will host an annual polar bear plunge into Lake Hartwell to raise awareness and funds for the Anderson County Red Fez Shrine Club. Organizers hope to beat previous years’ fundraising efforts and generate a strong sense of community during the day’s event.

The day will kick off at 9:00 AM with day-of registration & check-in for the polar bear plunge, and the participants will plunge into Lake Hartwell at 10:00 AM. Registration for the polar bear plunge is $30, and the event is open to the public. Any interested participants may visit the link for the event waiver below and send a completed version, along with registration payment, to AndersonRedFez@Gmail.com. All polar plungers will receive a complimentary t-shirt and medal to commemorate the event.

As an additional contribution from Big Water Marina and Campground, there will be a raffle for a free half-day pontoon rental. Anyone attending or participating in the event is eligible to participate in the raffle by purchasing tickets for $1/each. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Anderson County Shrine Club, and more event details can be found by visiting the Facebook event page linked below.

For questions or more information, please call 864-359-0216.

Visit the Facebook event page & RSVP here: https://fb.me/e/4Y4hApYwf

Polar Plunge waiver for participants: https://bit.ly/PolarPlungeWaiver

Sponsorship opportunities: https://bit.ly/PolarPlungeSponsors

About Big Water Marina and Campground: Big Water Marina is a self-service facility that is located on the largest expanse of open water on Lake Hartwell. The marina supports 150+ wet slips for both long and short-term boat parking. The full-service campground includes RV sites, primitive tent sites, and a seasonal bar & grill. Boat, kayak, paddleboard, and hydrobike rentals are available for visitors looking to explore the lake, while the marina’s Ship Store is stocked with essential items for purchase. Future plans in the works include cabin rentals, covered docks, family-friendly activities, and continued expansion of the marina grounds. To stay up to date with all announcements, follow Big Water Marina and Campground on social media.

For media inquiries, contact info@bigwatermarina.com.

Big Water Marina and Campground

Taylor Stephens

864-226-3339

https://www.bigwatermarina.com/

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Cold Water Fisheries

Feb 12, 2022 | Business


The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing a flagship scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with a highest ever investment of Rs. 20,050 crore for a period of 5 years with effect from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in all the States/Union Territories. PMMSY inter-alia provides support for promotion of cold water fisheries with a special focus on establishment of Trout Fish hatcheries, construction of raceways, inputs for Trout rearing units, construction of new ponds,, establishment of Recirculatory Aquaculture system(RAS), establishment of cages for culture of fish and also post-harvest infrastructure facilities. During 2020-21 and current financial year(2021-22), project proposals at a total outlay of Rs.19586.27 lakh have been approved for development of cold water fisheries including post- harvest development, transportation, promotion and branding facilities of Rainbow Trout. UT/State-wise details of proposals approved/funds released is furnished at Annexure-I.


UT/State-wise details of project proposals approved during 2020-21 and 2021-22 for development of Cold water fisheries under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.














Sl. No.

State/UT

Cumulative total


Project Cost

Total Fund


Released

1.

Arunachal Pradesh

1864.20

503.33

2.

Himachal Pradesh

4434.57

1135.44

3.

Jammu & Kashmir

5397.99

2028.05

4.

Ladakh

744.60

139.05

5.

Sikkim

2825.31

555.21

6.

Uttarakhand

4319.60

1830.01

Total

19586.27

6191.09








This information was given by Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.


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MV/MG




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Japan – Fujitsu’s Blockchain Solution Applied to New Water Trading Platform to Tackle Global Water Shortages

Nov 18, 2021 | Business

With global water supplies under severe pressure from climate change and growing worldwide demand, Fujitsu and Botanical Water Technologies (BWT) signed an agreement and initiated the creation of a blockchain-based water trading platform, “Botanical Water Exchange” (BWX), on November 8, 2021. Fujitsu will help businesses achieve sustainability commitments and alleviate water shortages through the development of the world’s first water trading platform for the exchange of plant-derived water, which is based on the concept of sustainable water offsetting.

BWT leverages its patented technology to purify and re-mineralize water that is normally discarded during the production of vegetable and fruit juices and the processing of sugarcane, providing this plant-derived purified water to areas where it often proves difficult to secure safe drinking water.

The new BWX platform will rely on the FUJITSU Track and Trust service, which uses blockchain technology to ensure end-to-end transparency and traceability of processes including the refinement, sales, purchase, delivery and usage of the product. With a planned launch date of April 2022, both companies envision the new BWX platform contributing to the realization of greater safety and security in water trading, and ultimately aim to create an open market in which companies including juice concentration facilities, sugar mills, alcohol distilleries, and beverage manufacturers can sell water purified by the patented Botanical Water process.

Terry Paule, CEO at Botanical Water Technologies comments, “Reducing all wastage from industrial processes is a key pillar of a “circular economy”. The focus of Fujitsu to create a better society through innovation and their breakthrough methodologies are the main reasons for our co-creation journey with them. With our Botanical Water technology we can, for example, recover up to 60% of the water in sugarcane that is still accessible after sugar extraction and produce clean, environmentally green and safe drinking water. Food and beverage manufacturers with excess water produced by the Botanical Water process can either put it to circular use as a sustainable ingredient, market it as AquaBotanical plant-based water or offer water credits on the BWX platform as part of their water positive ESG programs and non-financial indicators.”

Frederik De Breuck, Head of the FUJITSU Track and Trust Solution Center comments, “Our new blockchain solution, the FUJITSU Track and Trust service, has been developed and launched at the FUJITSU Track and Trust Solution Center in Belgium. To realize the groundbreaking initiative of net-zero water trading with BWT, we have proposed a private and permissioned blockchain-based platform that leverages the Track and Trust solution. With this solution at the core, our multidisciplinary team continues to build blockchain solutions that support the realization of our customers’ management visions and the optimal resolution of global social issues under a global structure of co-creation and collaboration with our bases in India, the United Kingdom, and Japan.”

Background

According to the UN, about four billion people – nearly two-thirds of the global population – experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year (3). The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 recognize the urgency of addressing this water scarcity.
Amid growing interest in the environment and the SDGs, beverage manufacturers are focusing their efforts on reducing the environmental impact of their business through actions like the reduction of CO2 emissions, the conservation of water sources, and the reduction of water consumption at production facilities.

About Botanical Water Exchange

The new BWX platform will deliver unprecedented supply chain traceability using blockchain technology. Juice concentration facilities, sugar mills, and alcohol distilleries equipped with BWT’s equipment will be able to purify water that would otherwise be discarded during the production process. Manufacturers can sell this water to other food and beverage manufacturers on the BWX platform or put it into circular use at their own facility.

Companies that want to use Botanical Water in their factories can purchase it via the BWX platform from the nearest Botanical Water refinery. In this way, companies can lower transportation costs, reduce the environmental footprint of their operations, and ultimately contribute to the achievement of both carbon and water neutrality targets.

By purchasing “water credits” (4) that can be redeemed on the BWX platform, companies can also donate the same amount of water consumed at their facilities in order to reduce their environmental impact to zero as part of their water positive ESG and corporate compliance programs.

For example, companies that use a large amount of water for their business can offset this water usage through the purchase of water credits, which allow them to provide clean drinking water to water-scarce communities and run charity activities through the Botanical Water Foundation not-for-profit organization.

About “FUJITSU Track and Trust”

The FUJITSU Track and Trust service leverages blockchain technology and draws on a variety of open source software, industry knowledge, information on trends, as well as Fujitsu’s know-how gained through the management of systems operations for tens of thousands of customer cases.
In addition to authentication and account management, which are required when applying blockchain technologies to business operations, Fujitsu builds on its extensive industry knowledge and integrates its expertise in areas including UI, infrastructure, and networks to offer small-start platforms tailored to its customers’ businesses by adopting an agile approach.

(1) up to 3 trillion liters annually:
Botanical Water Technologies estimated drinking water production capacity.
(2) ESG:
An environment necessary for long-term corporate growth and for the realization of a sustainable world with three principles: “Environment”, “Social” and “Governance”
(3) about four billion people – nearly two-thirds of the global population – experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year:
https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/scarcity/
(4) Water credits:
A concept similar to that of carbon credits where companies trade mainly for use in water offset. When a company purchases water credits to offset its water use in the manufacturing and distribution of products and services, and the same amount of water is donated, it is offset and the company’s water use is reduced.

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 126,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.6 trillion yen (US$34 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.

WATER CRISIS

Aug 5, 2021 | Business

 Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.

The Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing JalJeevan Mission-HarGharJal, which aims at providing potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long term basis to every rural household through tap water connection by 2024.

Government of India has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) on 25th June, 2015 in select 500 cities and towns across the country. The water supply component includes new, augmentation and rehabilitation of water supply system; rejuvenation of water bodies for drinking water supply and special water supply arrangement for difficult areas, hills and coastal cities, including those having water quality problem.

Under HarKhetKoPani (HKKP) component of PradhanMantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana (PMKSY), Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies Scheme was launched which aims to revive irrigation potential by improvement and restoration of water bodies by enhancing the tank storage capacity, along with other multiple objectives such as ground water recharge, increased availability of drinking water, improvement of catchment of tank commands etc. Under the Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies scheme, since 12th plan onwards, 2,228 schemes are ongoing. Further, 1,549 water bodies have been reported to be completed upto March, 2021. Target irrigation potential restoration of these schemes is 1.89 lakh hectare and out of this, 1.31 lakh hectare is reported to be restored till March, 2021.

During 2016-17, ninety-nine (99) on-going major/medium irrigation projects (and 7 phases) under PMKSY – Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) have been prioritized in consultation with States for completion in phases out of which AIBP works of 44 projects have been reported to be completed/almost completed. During 2016-17 to 2020-21, irrigation potential of 22.47 lakh hectare has been reported to be created by these projects in the country.

AtalBhujalYojana, a Central Sector Scheme, with focus on community participation, demand side interventions and convergence of ongoing schemes for sustainable ground water management is being implemented from 1 April 2020 in seven States – Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

National Water Mission had started a campaign “SahiFasal” to nudge farmers to favor agricultural crops which consume less water and to use water more efficiently in agriculture, as a part of demand side management.

National Water Mission, in a bid to draw attention to critical aspects of water, and to promote dialogue and information sharing among participants on variety of water related topics, has initiated a monthly seminar series – “Water Talk” on 22nd March, 2019, the World Water Day. The “Water Talk” is intended to create awareness, build capacities of stakeholders and to encourage people to become active participants in the conservation and saving of water. The “Water Talk” provides a platform wherein, among other Water Talkers (which include academicians, bureaucrats, activists, water experts), Sarpanchs and representatives of NGOs also participate and showcase the best practices in water sector in villages and cities / towns across the country.

Furthermore, Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) in its report for 2021-26, has earmarked 60 per cent for national priorities like drinking water supply and rainwater harvesting and sanitation, out of the total grants earmarked for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). For fifty Million – Plus cities, two-thirds of allocation of funds under Challenge Fund of Rs. 38,196 crore is meant for meeting service level benchmarks on drinking water supply, rainwater harvesting, water recycling, solid waste management and sanitation.

The FFC report also emphasises on sustainable and efficient water use and has suggested three ways to reduce and rationalise water use in agriculture: (i) by replacing free or subsidised power supply for agriculture with direct benefit transfers (DBT), (ii) encouraging use of new technologies such as drip, sprinkler, sensor-based irrigation to get more crop per drop, and (iii) by conserving and rainwater harvesting to increase the availability of surface as well as of groundwater. FFC has recommended incentive-based grants to States that maintain and augment groundwater stock and maintain a check on any fall in the water table.

Additionally, Renukaji Dam Project envisaged 498 MCM water to NCT of Delhi. Lakhwar Multipurpose Project envisages 33,780 Ha of irrigation along with 300 MW power generations and 78.83 MCM drinking & industrial water supply to Upper Yamuna Basin states including Delhi as per agreement signed by them. Kishau Multipurpose Project envisages drinking water supply upto 617 MCM, irrigation benefit of 0.97 Lakh Ha to Upper Yamuna Basin states. Also, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the State of Himachal Pradesh and NCT of Delhi on 20.12.2019 for usage of unutilized Yamuna water share of Himachal Pradesh by Delhi.

At the time of announcement of JalJeevan Mission, only 3.23 crore households were reported to have tap water connections. Since then, another 4.64 crore rural households have been provided tap water connections. As on date, out of 19.12 crore rural households, 7.87 crore households have tap water supply in homes.

As per Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Government of NCT of Delhi, to overcome water crisis and augment  raw water resources in Delhi, DJB has laid water pipelines in large number of colonies during last six years leading to achieving an increase of 7,67,623 number of water connections. There are total 27,28,348 households with DJB water connection, including individual connections as well as group housing societies with bulk connections.

Some steps taken by the Central Government to control ground water depletion and promote rain water harvesting/conservation are available at the URL:

http://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps_to_control_water_depletion_Feb2021.pdf

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, ShriPrahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the LokSabha today.

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AS/SK

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