(a) Whether the Government has made any effort to bring down the cost involved in the process of making sea water potable;
(b) if so, the details of the efforts made and the outcome of the said efforts; and
(c) the quantity of sea water made potable during the last three years?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES
(SHRI. Y. S. CHOWDARY)
(a) Yes, Madam.
(b) National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), an autonomous Institute under Ministry of Earth Sciences has carried out Research & Development work for increasing efficiency of thermal cycle and offshore components. Efforts have been made to reduce operational cost by adopting optimum design parameters. According to the cost estimates made in August 2010 by an independent agency for LTTD technology, the cost per litre of desalinated potable water is about 61 paise for island based plants.
(c) The quantum of fresh water produced in last 3 years is about 2500 lakh liters in the Lakshadweep islands and about 55 lakhs liters in pilot demonstration plant at North Chennai Thermal Power Station.