Nagpur 24x7 project - Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL India)

Water supply to be explained in beginner's terms is the provision of water by public utilities, viable organizations, community activities or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Irrigation is covered separately. Mr. Arun Lakhani had a vision for Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL India) as he considered Water Supply is a project that needs to be worked on and developed for a billion+ people in India.

At VIL we see ourselves as social entrepreneurs since Water, Waste Water and Transport; the sectors in which we have built our reputation are closely interwoven with the lives of people. As business, apart from value creation for share holders they also impact happiness quotient of the people, thus offering enormous satisfaction to us for our life transforming work. The rapidly urbanizing Indian population is expected to reach a figure close to 600 million urban people by 2031. This massive transition is creating serious challenges for urban planners and ULBs especially that of ensuring quality water supply to these citizens. Indian cities have for long lived with intermittent water supply systems riddled with a variety of problems ranging from high levels of NRW to contamination issues.

The areas to be in focus in 24x7 water supply are as follows: Non-Revenue Water ranging from 50 to 75%, Water supply coverage only about 64%, Intermittent Supply & Poor billing mechanism. As a solution to this situation several reforms have been initiated by the government which include introduction of performance linked PPP contracts, up gradation of existing ageing assets, 100% metering and efficient operation and maintenance of the supply system. Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd. provides global solutions that contribute to sustainable development in the water sector through innovation in the design, construction and operation of drinking water treatment plants, distribution system reforms, etc.

Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited Water supply success stories: Nagpur 24 X 7 – Nagpur is the 3rd largest city & winter capital of Maharashtra state, Nagpur is India’s loath largest city with a population of over 2.5 million people. It became the first city of its size in the country to outsource its water supply to a private operator under the PPP model for 25 years. Nagpur 24 x 7 Water Supply

First Full City Continuous water supply Project in India

The Project gives emphasis on Operator’s Performance; the Operator remuneration is linked with the technical and commercial efficiency of his services.

·         Delinking of consumer tariff and Operator’s fees

·         Employees and Unions – Job security of government employees maintained

·         Included ‘economically challenged segment of society’ in Service Level Agreement (SLA) for connecting households

·         Sovereign rights with N MC —Tariff, sole rights for new house service connection & disconnection and ownership of assets

Other projects in the pipeline for Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited are Magadi 24x7 in Ramanagara district in the state of Karnataka. Bidar & Basavakalyan 24×7. The two towns of Bidar and Basavakalyan are located in the Bidar district of Karnataka.

Pressurized water supply throughout India is essential for daily survival. It’s a basic necessity for every living being. VIL aims to overcome this problem and make India a country with 24x7 Water Supply.

Arun Lakhani's views on Indian Urban Water Scenario

The rapidly urbanizing Indian population is expected to reach a figure close to 600 million urban people by 2031. This massive transition is creating serious challenges for urban planners and ULBs, especially which of ensuring quality water supply to these citizens. Indian cities have for long lived with intermittent water supply systems riddled with a variety of problems ranging from high levels of NRW to contamination issues. Some of the concerns with the urban water scenario are Non-Revenue Water ranging from 50 to 75%, Water supply coverage only about 64%, Intermittent Supply, Poor billing mechanism. Here’s what Mr. Arun Lakhani has to say as a solution to this situation several reforms have been initiated by the government which include introduction of performance linked PPP contracts, up gradation of existing ageing assets, 100% metering and efficient operation and maintenance of the supply system.

Water companies globally are developing technologies and management systems to deal with these challenges. Vishvaraj infrastructurelimited (VIL) however understands that the Indian context is different and it needs solutions which are local, competitive and socially acceptable. We develop implementation strategies keeping local situation in perspective as water is a very sensitive subject in our country. For us, driving innovations, creating sustainability, technological advancements, environmental friendliness and people’s involvement are the key drivers for the company in this sector.

Nagpur 24x7 The Project: The 3rd largest city & winter capital of Maharashtra state, Nagpur is India’s loath largest city with a population of over 2.5 million people. It became the first city of its size in the country to outsource its water supply to a private operator under the PPP model for 25 years. The one big objective was to provide l00% safe drinking water 24×7 to l00% of the population including the slum-dwellers within 5 years. The second major objective was to reduce Non Revenue Water below 25% in 10 years time. The contract was awarded to Orange City Water Limited — a 50:50 joint venture SPV company incorporated with equal equity stake of Vishvaraj Environment Pvt. Ltd. and Veolia Water of France. The Private entity to bring in 3o% of the investment of the estimated project cost, 70% to be the Public entity’s contribution under MN URM + l00% escalation. The project to be operative for 25 years of O&M inclusive of 5 years of capital rehabilitation. The project covers management of the entire water cycle from production, treatment (657 MLD), transport (2100 Kms of network), storage and delivery to the last point of usage i.e. the customers tap. This involves replacement of more than 3,00,00 house service connections, rehabilitation of treatment facilities, service reservoirs and pipeline. Every household including slums to get individual continuous piped water supply connection. Involving people and to see their problems from their point view, is a key factor for the sustainable development in Water Sector especially through PPP. Therefore the concept of Citizen Engagement came into existence through various platforms. We are giving emphasis on communicating with all stakeholders for all our projects in water sector.

Why Nagpur’s Water Management is a good model according driven by Arun Lakhani

Every family has a tap and a meter irrespective of whether it is a slum, a flat or a bungalow. There is accountability for every drop of water supplied the first time,” says Arun Lakhani, chairman and managing director, Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd (VIL India), which was put into effect the Nagpur Orange City Water Project. The goal of the project was to address problems of water that was being exhausted and not getting billed. The city was supplying 575 million litres per day (mld) of treated water of which only 175 mld was getting billed and paid for. Most meters were either non-existent or non functional. Also, the city was receiving water supply for eight to 10 hours or on alternate days. The tanker mafia added to the problem. On the sewage side, the city was generating 550 mld of sewage and had the capacity to treat only 100 mld. The remaining untreated sewage was polluting water bodies that supplied water to the city. For this project, the private company invested 30% of the estimated project cost, 70% grants came from the JNNURM scheme, shared by both the state and the Central government. The project was initiated by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. This project has showcased as the model case study for other cities at the launch of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart City initiative. The company also undertook a waste water reuse project for Nagpur city under which National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will be reusing 200 mld of treated water from the STP for its Mauda plant. By doing so, the city will get an additional 200 million litres per day of water, which is enough for 200 lakh people.

“Currently, the industrial sector, which is one of the biggest consumers of water, is supplied fresh treated potable water. They can easily use waste water treated up to the secondary level. As much as 80% of the water being supplied to cities is right there. It only needs to be treated and supplied to industries. Good potable water that industries get can be swapped for residential and drinking purposes,” says Arun Lakhani. Out of a 1,000 ml litre per day supplied to a town, nearly 800 mld is coming back as sewage. Out of this almost 500 mld can be treated and supplied to commercial complexes, industries, thermal power stations and water city parks. This can solve water shortage problems in almost every town, he says.

Water, Waste Water Reuse and Transport by Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited

Water: The rapidly urbanizing Indian population is expected to reach a figure close to 600 million urban people by 2031. This massive transition is creating serious challenges for urban planners and ULBs, especially which of ensuring quality water supply to these citizens. Indian cities have for long lived with intermittent water supply systems riddled with a variety of problems ranging from high levels of NRW to contamination issues. As a solution to this situation several reforms have been initiated by the government which include introduction of performance linked PPP contracts, up gradation of existing ageing assets, 100% metering and efficient operation and maintenance of the supply system.  Water companies globally are developing technologies and management systems to deal with these challenges. VIL however understands that the Indian context is different and it needs solutions which are local, competitive and socially acceptable. We develop implementation strategies keeping local situation in perspective as water is a very sensitive subject in our country. For us, driving innovations, creating sustainability, technological advancements, environmental friendliness and people’s involvement are the key drivers for the company in this sector.

Waste Water Reuse:  In contrast the demand for fresh water is growing rapidly, estimated to go from 813 BCM today to 1,447 BCM by 2050, whereas the resource base remains constrained at 1,122 BCM. The industrial sector, which is one of the major users of fresh water, mostly puts fresh water to non-potable. Wastewater treated up to secondary level can easily be utilized for this purpose freeing up massive amounts of freshwater for domestic consumers. This can easily be achieved by improving the municipal wastewater collection, treatment and reuse thus not only recycling wastewater which is otherwise lost but also save the downstream water bodies from pollution. This is the win-win proposition of VIL’s model for the all the stakeholders, a unique example of creating value from waste whilst contributing positively to environmental sustainability.

Transport: Roads, the predominant mode of transportation in India carry almost 80 percent of the country’s passenger traffic and 65 percent of its freight. With a density of 0.66 km of highway per square kilometer of land India’s highway network is similar to that of the United States (0.65) and much greater than China’s (0.16) or Brazil’s (0.20). India boasts of 3.3 million Kms of highways, with 80,000 Kms of National highways and 1, 31,000 Kms of State highways. Indian roads experienced a 10.16% CAGR of growth of vehicles in the last five years.

VIL spotted this opportunity way back in 2000 and strategically decided to stay focused on BOT projects. It made a humble start with the development of 8.3 Km Bypass road on BOT basis, which was one of the first BOT concessions awarded at that time. Those were tough times for the industry with stiff resistance from key stakeholders i.e. the commuters for paying toll for using the road. However, the concept matured well over time and VIL completed 4 projects well within stipulated construction time, the concession period for these range from 15 to 30 years.

Technology and Infrastructure by Arun Lakhani

The Chairman & Managing Director of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited (VIL) Mr. Arun Lakhani says investing in expertise is just a stepping stones to developed and modern India. At Vishvaraj Infra (VIL India) we consider in creating value for every stakeholders by removing carefulessness. We consider ourselves as social entrepreneurs since Water, Waste Water and Transport; the sectors in which we have built our standing are closely interwoven with the lives of people. As business, apart from value creation for share holders they also impact happiness quotient of the people, thus offering enormous satisfaction to us for our life transforming work.

Here is what Mr. Arun Lakhani has to say the entire integrated water management project for Nagpur began with a simple idea that we want to have a continuous water supply sustaining Nagpur that means 24x7 water supply has to be provide to all the individual citizens. It was decided to improve the efficiency and bring in the new technology, a private sector expertise & to ensure that equitable water distribution this entire concept of 24x7 water supplies or continuous water supply was brought in.

24x7 water supple project was conceptualized to convert the terms of water supply to a round the clock one by fair distribution. The project kicked off with replacement of leaking pipes and house service connection. The target of Nagpur of 24x7 water supply project is to replace 600 kilometers of pipelines in the city and provide 3, 25,000 house service connections. It also aims to provide services like metering, billing, collection and customer service 3, 25,000 consumers. The project aims to undertake the operation and maintenance of water treatment plant to the capacity of 725 million liters per day. Decking up the 24x7 water supply project provided modern technology for treatment of water that in turn helped renovate the entire water network.

In addition to infrastructural and operational improvement technology was also introduced for monitoring and controlling the water flow. The use of SCADA system or supervisory control and data acquisition to monitor the entire urban water distribution system at one place made monitoring of the treatment plants extremely quick.

See Nagpur city is increasing and it is growing like anything. For a growing city most professional way of management is required for all the sectors. We have put GIS system, SCADA system lot of modern technological system which we can monitor the total city by sitting at a single point.

If on one hand modern technology made it easy to monitor Orange City Water it also helped the company become more accessible to the citizens. Orange City Water now has a dedicated call center to address customer grievances. The option of online billing has made transactions more convenient for customers. Orange City Waters is also to launch its mobile application in the near future.

Nagpur 24x7 - Sewage Treatment And Water Reuse By VIL India

The City – Nagpur
The 3rd largest city & winter capital of Maharashtra state, Nagpur is India’s loath largest city with a population of over 2.5 million people. It became the first city of its size in the country to outsource its water supply to a private operator under the PPP model for 25 years.

VIL India has been a proponent of PPP model, and has established track record in Road and highways sector.  With Urban Infrastructure foray in Water, it is today the only Indian Utility with ongoing projects in Water distribution as well as Waste water treatment and Reuse. With Water scarcity hitting the country in a big way, with sustainability point of view ,VIL’s example of Total Integrated water management at Nagpur is being followed by the whole nation. Treating Sewage as Water Source and reuse for commercial/industrial purpose is key to releasing fresh water used by Industry for drinking, without augmenting fresh sources.

Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited And Veoila France

India has gigantic necessity of Infrastructure building and improvement. The PPP route was established in last decade also saw some lean time. With New government initiative the PPP has again come with better risk sharing matrix between private and public. Vishvaraj Infrastructure Limited saw this prospect and decided to have a model for 24x7 water supply. Orange City Water (OCW) also popularly known as the Nagpur 24x7 Water supply along with Veoila France made this happen.

OCW will have to deliver a uninterrupted supply of drinking water to the homes of the 2.7 million people living in Nagpur, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, up from the current two to 12 hours a day. The service will be provided to the entire population of Nagpur, including the third of the population living in the city's slums. This will be a first in India. Orange City Water (OCW) will invested 18 million Euros in the project to renovate the city's six water production plants and repair the 2,500 km of network. The production capacity of the system managed by OCW will eventually be close to 750 million liters a day and leakage from the network, which is currently 60%, will gradually be lowered to international standards.

Vishvaraj Environment Pvt. Ltd. (VEL) is a subsidiary of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd. (VIL), a transportation infrastructure development company from India. With a humble start over a decade ago with development of road project on BOT model, today VIL is successfully managing four concession contracts in transportation (road) sector and the fifth contract is under execution. Over this decade long journey, VIL has acquired knowledge to evolve systems in sectors where society at large is involved and all stakeholder's interests need to be understood and addressed, ensuring a win-win situation for all, more so in a developing and culturally diverse country like India. VIL India proposes to put to use this knowledge in few more sectors, water being a major focus area through its subsidiary Vishvaraj Environment. Vishvaraj Environment foresees a great opportunity for the private sector to participate in financing, building and maintaining urban water supply infrastructure projects and has geared itself to build the capacities for the future.

Veolia Water India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Veolia Water India Africa, which covers Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Veolia Water India Africa is 80.55% held by Veolia Water, with the remainder being held by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group institution in charge of operations with the private sector, and by PROPARCO, a subsidiary of the French development aid agency with a similar role. Veolia Water India Africa provides 3.16 million people with water and 1.42 million with electricity. It employs 2,191 people and offers partners its technical and managerial expertise to supply specific solutions in regions affected by water stress. Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is the world leader in water and wastewater services. Specialized in outsourcing services for municipal authorities, as well as industrial and service companies, it is also one of the world's major designers of technological solutions and constructor of facilities needed in water and wastewater services. With 96,651 employees in 69 countries, Veolia Water provides water service to 103 million people and wastewater service to 73 million. Its 2011 revenue amounted to € 12.617 billion.