Union Ministry of Railways releases new Water Management Policy

The Union Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu on 22 March 2017 released the Water Policy of Indian Railways to mark the World Water Day. The policy was released at a ceremony in New Delhi.

On this occasion, the minister also presented GreenCo Certificates to three units of Indian Railways and announced the expansion of VIKALP Scheme for the benefit of waitlisted passengers. The expanded scheme will become effective on 1 April 2017.

Features of Water Policy of Indian Railways

• The policy covers all aspects of water use, recycling, conservation and recharge of groundwater.

• This is a progressive and creative policy under which field units will be motivated to recycle and save water.

• The objective of the policy is to improve water use efficiency by setting up water recycling plants, rainwater harvesting plants, sewage treatment plants and effluent treatment plants on railway land.

• The policy allows the participation of private players for recycling water for non-potable usage on build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.

• In this water policy, water audits, restoration of water bodies and recycling of water were given a priority.

Presentation of GreenCo Certificates

• While the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi was presented with the GreenCo Silver Certificate,  Perambur Carriage Workshop, Chennai was given the GreenCo Bronze Certificate.

• In addition, Lallaguda Carriage Workshop, Hyderabad was facilitated with the GreenCo Silver Certificate.

About GreenCo Certificates

• GreenCo Certificates, which are developed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), are given for adopting good green practices.

• In fact, the GreenCo Rating System is the first of its kind framework in the world.

• The GreenCo Rating System is aimed at catalyzing green practices in the Indian industry.

• The objective of the scheme is to define and assess “How Green is a company?” and facilitate the way forward for further improvement and promote world class competitiveness through green strategies.

• The framework adopts a life-cycle approach and evaluates the activities of a unit or a facility on the green front.