Mangaluru, (The Hindu): Reviving the proposal for setting up a desalination plant in the city, Urban Development Minister U.T. Khader has asked the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWS&DB) to prepare a feasibility report on it.

The board has been asked to consult major industries in the city such as MRPL, MCF Ltd. and MSEZ Ltd. on their water requirement before preparing the report. The industries too have been asked to submit their requirements to the board.

The KUWS&DB has been made the nodal department to co-ordinate for the project proposal.

According to Mr. Khader, the proposal would be taken forward only if the project was found to be viable. Otherwise, it would be dropped. He said that there should be clarity on whether it would be possible to supply water to industries and whether drinking water could be supplied to people at a nominal rate.

Mr. Khader said that now the board would study whether it was feasible to set up a 50 MLD capacity plant in the city under public-private partnership. The board should come out with the details on the funds required, land required to set up the plant and its availability, how to maintain it, the production and supply cost of water.

The proposal took birth in 2016 when the city faced acute water shortage in summer forcing major industries to shut down operations for some days. The then Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim, who called a meeting, decided to form a special purpose vehicle (which is a company) to take the proposal forward.