Lok Sabha Question No. 552 (STARRED), answered on 2017-04-12
Subject: Water Management in Indian Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, Shrirang Appa Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 552 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.04.2017

## WATER MANAGEMENT IN INDIAN RAILWAYS

## *552. SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO: SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is a need to regularise the use of water in Indian Railways and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  annual water  consumption of the Indian Railways and the manner in which the Railways meet its regular water consumption;
- (c) whether  the  Indian  Railways  is  taking  steps  towards  the preservation of water and rolling out a new policy that is likely to  be  a  game-changer  and  if  so,  the  details  and  the  salient features thereof;
- (d) whether the Railways has decided to encourage private players to  set  up  water  treatment  plants  specifically  for  this  purpose and  if  so,  the  manner  in  which  this  is  likely  to  check  water wastage  and  cut  down  the  annual  water  bill  of  the  Indian Railways; and
- (e) the  services  and  areas  where  this  policy  is  proposed  to  be implemented  and  the  extent  to  which  the  new  water  policy would promote a better water management system and curtail water wastage and consumption?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF PATIL SHIVAJIRAO AND SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE TO BE ANSWERED IN  LOK  SABHA ON 12.04.2017 REGARDING WATER MANAGEMENT

STARRED QUESTION NO. 552 BY SHRI ADHALRAO IN INDIAN RAILWAYS

- (a) Yes, Madam. Indian Railways (IR), being a major consumer of water,  ought  to  take  adequate  and  effective  measures  to  improve the  management  of  demand  and  supply  of  water  to  avoid  water scarcity  coming  in  the  way  of  operation  and  management  of Railways.
- (b) Indian Railways has more than 8000 stations and other establishments/  institutions  spread  over  length  and  breadth  of  the country. To meet the demand of water of these settlements, Railways are  using  various  sources  for  water  like  bore-well,  municipal  supply, tankers, rivers/ dams etc. Although accountal of water received from the municipality is maintained but it is practically not feasible to have accountal  of  water  taken  from  other  sources  like  bore-well,  dams  / rivers etc.
- (c) Yes,  Madam.  Indian  Railways  are  already  taking  a  number  of steps towards preservation of water. Some of these are:

Water  Recycling:    At  present  39  number  of  waste  water  treatment plants are treating around 1.26 crore litres of water every day. Another 48 plants are at various stages of construction and installation. Water requirement  has  been  reduced  by  about  15  million  litres  per  day.  IR signed  an  MOU  on  03.12.2015  with  the  Ministry  of  Water  Resources regarding use of non-potable water released from Effluent Treatment Plants located in Ganga Yamuna River Zones for Railway purposes.

Rain  Water  Harvesting  (RWH):  Railways  have  identified  about  3539 buildings  having  rooftop  area  of  more  than  200  sqm  on  which installation  of  RWH  facilities  is  feasible.  2997  rain  water  harvesting systems have already been provided.

Water Audit: 157 water audit have been conducted.

Water  bodies  -  Created/  Nurtured/  Protected:    IR  has  revived  40  old water bodies and 5 are newly created. One 200 year old 'Salarjung' open well revived during the year is yielding 2-4 lakh litres of water per day saving precious water and also revenue of ` 2 crore per annum. A total of 1527 functional water bodies exist on Railway land.

In order to further strengthen water conservation efforts and to meet  self  target  of  20%  reduction  in  water  consumption  as  part  of commitment made under Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC),  Indian  Railways  has  formulated  Water  Management  Policy, 2017. The policy aims to curb water wastage and to reduce expenditure on fresh water by way of setting up of Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs), Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), Rain Water Harvesting  (RWH),  Water  Recycling  Plants  (WRPs),  Restoring  and creating water bodies etc. Main features of policy are:

1. Each Zonal Railway/ Production Unit shall endeavour to make at least one unit (colony, workshop, shed, station etc.) every year to
2. become  water  positive  which  implies  that  recycled  water  plus water harvested is more than water extracted and consumed.
2. Indian  Railways,  where  ever  possible  and  advisable,  shall  use SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition based system) which  is  configured  to  control  various  equipments  and  monitor the water throughout this entire process.
3. Solar  heating  systems  shall  be  a  standard  component  of  the water supply system.
4. Water  audit  shall  be  carried  out  in  all  establishments  (station, sheds/  depots,  colonies  and  Workshops/  Production  Units  etc.) where (a) water consumption is more than 5 lakh litres per day and/ or (b) water supply is from ground water source and Ground Water  Block  falls  in  'Semi-Critical',  'Critical'  or  'Over-exploited' category as per Central Ground Water Board categorization and/ or (c) where railway is purchasing substantial quantity of water from Municipality.
5. Water  meters  shall  be  installed  in  major  service  buildings, workshops, depots/ sheds, stations, major utility buildings covering supply point(s) and major distribution/ end-use point(s).
6. ETPs/  WRPs  have  to  be  provided  at  railway  stations,  colonies, workshops/ sheds, hospitals etc., including other units as per the Central Ground Water Authority's guidelines.
7. RWH  systems  shall  be  provided  in  all  existing  establishments (station buildings, service buildings, residential quarter and other units)  having  roof  top  area  of  more  than  200  sqm  subject  to techno-economic feasibility.
8. Bathroom  sinks  and  toilets  including  flushing  tanks  shall  be equipped  with  low  water  consumption  kits/  fittings.  Waterless urinals need to be used progressively.
9. For  the  first  time  private  participation  in  water  recycling  and purchase  of  recycled  water  on  Build  Own  Operate  Transfer (BOOT) basis has been envisaged in the policy.

Railways have planned to meet the expenditure on environmental works including water management through 1% lumpsum provision in the  works  estimates  for  environment  related  works.  Provisions  are also planned from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. Indian Railway  is  also  exploring  the  feasibility  of  leveraging  green  climate fund (GCF) for water management. (d) Yes, Madam. Private participation in water recycling and purchase of  recycled  water  on  Built  Own  Operate  Transfer  (BOOT)  basis  has been  envisaged  in  the  policy  for  the  first  time  by  recognizing  water recycling plants as revenue saving projects by cutting down expenditure on purchase of fresh water. Water vending machines have also been set up by private participation for supply of clean drinking water.  As  stated  above,  recycling  of  water  shall  prevent  water wastage and therefore cut down annual water bill of Indian Railways. stations, sheds/depots, Workshops/Production Units/ colonies

(e)  The  policy  will  be  implemented  in  all  railway  establishments  i.e. to reduce  expenditure  on  purchase  of  fresh  water  by  using  recycled water for non-potable purposes. Features like Water Management Plan, upgrading water supply system, measurement and accountal of water consumption,  water  audit  and  waste  water  management  along  with use  of  water  efficient  fittings,  automatic  valves,  use  of  SCADA

(supervisory control and data acquisition) based control system would promote better water management.

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