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Maharashtra Chief Minister(CM) clears Mumbai’s first desalination plant
About the plant
- The proposed plant, which will process 200 million litres of water daily (MLD and would overcome the water shortage faced by Mumbai in the summer
- The project is proposed to be set up on 25 to 30 acres of land at Manori and the 200 MLD capacity is convenient for future capacity expansion.
- It will take about two and a half to three years to complete the project and it is expected to cost around Rs 1,600 crore.
- Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to take ‘Swiss Challenge Method’ for the project.
- If all goes as per plan then Mumbai could have its first desalination plant by 2025
- According to the Maharashtra CM, the desalination project would provide relief to the citizens in tackling the 10 to 15 per cent water cut they face every year in May and June due to the delayed monsoon
What is Desalination?
Desalination refers to any of several processes that remove the excess salt and other minerals from water in order to obtain fresh water suitable for animal consumption or irrigation, and if almost all of the salt is removed, for human consumption, sometimes producing table salt as a by-product.
What is the ‘Swiss Challenge Method’?
- It is a relatively new form of public procurement, wherein a government invites bids for a public project, and then publishes the bid, before inviting competing counter proposals to either match or improve the initial proposal.
- In other words, under this method, a project can be awarded to a private player on an unsolicited proposal. The private firm which has first submitted a proposal can be approached directly for negotiations and if they do not agree, then other bidders are called
Source: The Indian Express
