Govt sets deadline for desalination plants

The steering committee of the state government on Monday took the desalination plant proposal for Mumbai forward by setting 2013 as the deadline for the first phase.

The government plans to set up two plants of 100 mld each at south Mumbai and the suburbs to tackle the city’s water crisis.

The high powered committee, under the chairmanship of principle secretary, urban development, TC Benjamin, has sought a feasibility report within six months to enable the government to begin the process of setting up the plants.

A source told DNA: “The biggest worry is that we may not be able to provide absolutely clean water for drinking. Making standard potable water may not be feasible as the pollution level is extremely high. The desalination plants may not be able to get rid of all the pollutants.” Therefore, the water derived from the plants may be put to use only for commercial purposes.

At the meeting, Chennai’s desalination plants were discussed, and it was pointed out that seawater conditions there are different.
A senior official in the urban development ministry said: “Chief minister Ashok Chavan has given his consent for the plants. The project is on BOT (built, operate and transfer) basis. The government still needs to look into the funding aspect.”

Chennai’s 100mld desalination plant is for Rs600 crore. Given the cost of land in Mumbai, a similar plant here would be costlier.
Two technologies are being studied for the project: reverse osmosis, which is universally used for desalination, and evaporation.

A source said: “In case it is not possible to make potable water, they will need to tap the commercial sector and the railways to buy the water produced at Rs40 per 1,000 litres.”

The official said that despite strict coastal zone norms, permission can be had for desalination plants along the coastal stretch.