The Centre of Excellence on Water Reuse — the first of its kind to be established in the country — a collaboration between the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India, and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), was launched at the TERI Headquarters in New Delhi on Friday, December 24, 2021.
The Centre of Excellence (CoE), a quadripartite alliance between NMCG, TERI, industry partners, and industry representative bodies, to come up at the TERI campus in Gwal Pahari, Gurugram, will be meeting the objectives of the Ganga Knowledge Centre (GKC) to design and foster research and innovation, including identification of knowledge gaps for research and need for new ideas, supporting targeted research, and spurring and nurturing needed innovation such as low-cost, effective and integrated treatment technologies, which could bridge the current treatment gaps, augment capacities and provide safe treated water for reuse. The CoE is also the first of its kind that will match the activities envisaged under GKC.
Speaking at the launch, Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG said, “Wastewater after treatment should be used to the extent possible. The idea behind cleaning the Ganga, or a river or a city is to make them sustainable in the long run; sustainability from the point of view of looking at it not as wastewater, but as a resource that can be reused.” Mr. Mishra emphasized the need for partnerships with stakeholders, including research institutions and industries, to effectively address water reuse. “We need to have dialogues with industries that are working in the area of wastewater treatment, establishing treatment plants, enhancing water reuse, and going to provide treated water for safe reuse,” he added.
In her address, Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, highlighted that cutting-edge research should aim to help the larger community. “Research which remains in the laboratory is of little use,” said Dr. Dhawan, pointing out that TERI has always worked closely with industries and other stakeholders. She emphasized that treating wastewater at the source is crucial not only from an economic perspective but also as a sustainability measure.
Dr. S. K. Sarkar, Distinguished Fellow, and Senior Director, Water Resources Division, TERI, said, “The conventional technologies for wastewater treatment and reuse have limitations, therefore new technologies are a necessity. In this regard, TERI under the DST-Water Mission, Water Technology Initiative (WTI) Program of the Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India has developed the TERI Advanced Oxidation Technology (TADOX®) for wastewater treatment, achieving ZLD and enhancing water reuse. Setting up of this Centre of Excellence will help in advancing such technology initiatives”.
The CoE will be headed by Dr. Nupur Bahadur, Fellow and Area Convenor, TADOX® Technology Centre for Water Reuse, Water Resources Division, TERI. She said, “The Centre will emerge as a World Class Institution that will benefit stakeholders such as industries and industrial clusters, universities involved in R&D programs in wastewater treatment as well as provide technical consultancy, training and capacity building support to Central and State Governments, Urban Local Bodies, and industries in wastewater treatment and water reuse”.
This content was originally published on the TERI website.