Odisha mulling phase wise water allocation to industrial units

To ensure optimal drawal and use of water by industries, the state government is considering a proposal for allocating water to industrial units in a phase wise manner.

At a recent high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary, it was decided that a joint committee will assess the total water allocation and actual consumption of the existing industrial and commercial establishments drawing water from government water sources.

The committee will be formed with officials drawn from the department of water resources and the state's one stop investment promotion agency- Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol).

Many of the existing industries have been allocated with water much more than their present requirement without opting for phase wise allocations. Due to non-drawal, the excess allocated water flows to the sea as waste with the state exchequer losing a major chunk of revenue.

P K Jena, principal secretary (water resources) opined that it is time to make optimal drawal and use of water and industries need to opt for phase wise allocation commensurate with their requirement. The other pressing issue is industries taking long time to apply for allocation of water from the date of in-principle allocation of water. During this period, the entire water reserved for the industry is wasted to flow to the sea and the government does not get any revenue.

Against this backdrop, the committee will decide and suggest a fixed charge for water not consumed by any industry from the date of in-principle allocation to the date of actual allocation of water to suitably offset loss of revenue.

For industries whose MoUs (memorandum of understanding) have lapsed and those units that have not started any activity for three years after signing of MoU, the government may cancel the water allocation.