The Hindu Business Line : `Water pricing a key issue to improve efficiency of use'

Chennai June 19 There is a `window of opportunity' to plan for long-term water supply and strategy has to be utilised, according to Dr Yosef Dreizin, Deputy Water Commissioner, Israel.

Addressing a seminar on water, a vision for urban Tamil Nadu, he said often planners think about strategy only during an emergency. One good monsoon and they forget about the problems. But long-term planning has to be done when the situation is normal rather than waiting for an emergency. Israel had spoken about desalination two decades ago but it has happened only after three dry seasons.

Mr Daniel Zonshine, Consul General of Israel in Mumbai, said that water pricing is a key issue to improve efficiency of use. Users have to charged different rates depending on the use.

Tapping water sources

Addressing the seminar organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Embassy of Israel, the Tamil Nadu Minister for Public Works, Mr Durai Murugan, said the Government has no option but to tap distant water sources to meet the demand from domestic segment and industry.

With continued industrialisation and urbanisation over 45 per cent of the population was concentrated in and around urban centres. This percentage was bound to increase in the near future. Drinking water and supply to industry were high on the agenda for the State Government.

In Chennai alone, a draft master plan projects requirement at about 1,600 million litres a day — about 150 litres per person — and 161 million litres for industries. The demand is expected to increase to 2,248 million litres by 2026, he said.

Tamil Nadu was looking to Israel for improving efficiency of water supply and use.

One concern in the State was the encroachment into areas such as water bodies, tanks and reservoirs as urban centres grow.

The State Government has empowered the Public Works Department engineers to take action against such encroachment, Mr Durai Murugan said.