Sunday, January 08, 2012

Technological and Social Interventions hold key for preservation of water - Subodh Kant at PBD

JAIPUR -- Subotdh Rao "We are working in close association with United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for creating a sustainable tourism model in India.

The model would address all major concerns including water, tourism industry being a large consumer of water, said Mr Subodh Kant Sahai, Hon'ble Minister for Tourism, Government of India in his Inaugural Address at the Seminar on "Social Entrepreneurship - Water". The seminar was held as part of the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2012 organized jointly by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (Government of India), Government of Rajasthan and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Jaipur.

Mr Sahai further shared that the Government of India is coming out with a policy for mandatory water recycling and water harvesting, specifically for hotels and restaurants, with the sole objective of preserving the precious resource for the generations to come.

Mr Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs welcomed the delegates to the 10th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and sought their engagement in coping with the challenge of water scarcity. He also shared the concept of "India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians which is a not-for-profit trust registered by the Ministry to provide a credible window for Overseas Indian Philanthropy. He appealed to the Indian Diaspora to come forward and engage with local government bodies on the subject of water.

"Water is emerging out as the most precious commodity in the present day scenario which is also evident from the huge budgetary allocations being made worldwide for preserving and exploring more water resources", said Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister for Energy, Government of Rajasthan. He also shared that the State Government of Rajasthan is coming up with a mammoth investment of Rs. 15,000 Crore for 23 water processing schemes.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ram Lubhaya, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan shared the state's water scenario with the delegates. He stressed upon various water challenges including growing demand-supply gap, reduced performance efficiency of water infrastructure, technological gaps, etc. He then invited the Indian Diaspora for Public Private Partnerships to help overcome these challenges.

Mr Atul Jain, CEO, TEOCO stressed on innovation and excellence in execution as the tools for achieving appreciable results in water conservation. He also shared the work being done under the Akash Ganga project wherein water supply in seven districts of Rajasthan is being ensured through technical as well as social interventions. He invited the delegates for their contribution to replicate the same model in at least 1000 Indian villages.

Earlier welcoming the delegates, Mr T M Bhaskar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, GOI, emphasized on the importance of conserving water.

The seminar was attended by more than 100 delegates from various parts of the world.