The planning body also urged other states to implement the project for 24-hour water supply
Nagpur: Government of India’s NITI Aayog has praised the ambitious 24X7 Water Supply Project being implemented successfully jointly by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Orange City Water (OCW). The planning body has also urged other states to take note of the project and implement it in their respective states.
The NITI Aayog has recently released the second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0) report.The Report was launched by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. In the report, the NITI Aayog has stressed that all the states in the country should learn lessons from NMC-OCW’s 24X7 Water Supply Project and implement it scrupulously for supplying water to every citizen.
In Nagpur, a city with over 25 lakh populationm, the water supply system is regulated by the Water Works Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation through a private operator, Orange City Water (OCW).
The NITI Aayog has cited many examples from the Nagpur Water Supply Project implementation and said that it will be useful to other water providers in the country and elsewhere in the region both in relation to technical risk based management and organizational culture. A key feature of the success has been the close working relationship between NMC and OCW.
The NMC-OCW’s 24X7 Water Supply Project is being implemented on PPP basis. The private operator is responsible for supply of water in entire city. The job als includes dealing with problems such as irregular water supply, irregular water pressure etc.
The 24X7 Water Supply Project of NMC-OCW has won many awards in the country as well as globally. The awards include Best Water Management Practices and Best People’s Initiative and many such awards.
Composite Water Management Index
The Composite Water Management Index is an important tool to assess and improve the performance by the states and Union Territories in water resource management. The assessment is carried out through a one-of-its-kind water data collection exercise, which is conducted in partnership with the Jal Shakti Ministry, Rural Development Ministry and all the states and Union Territories. NITI Aayog had first launched the Composite Water Management Index in 2018. The index was launched then as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states in water resource management. The index was the first-ever attempt to measure different dimensions of water management across India. The index report had helped provide valuable inputs to the states regarding what they were doing right and which areas required more of their focus.
