Tata Steel Jamshedpur Works, Iron Ore Mines and JUSCO Conferred with CII National Award for Excellence in Water Management

New Delhi, September 6, 2017: Tata Steel Jamshedpur Works, Iron Ore mines and JUSCO were recognized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for excellence in water management at the Annual Water Summit held in New Delhi on September 5.

Tata Steel Jamshedpur Works & Noamundi Iron Ore Mine had participated for “within the fence” category while JUSCO had applied for “outside the fence” category. Location wise written application was submitted as per the format given by CII. This was followed by a site assessment and a presentation to Jury members consisting of eminent scientists and environment experts in Delhi. Tata Steel Jamshedpur bagged the winners award in “within the fence” category amongst shortlisted 45 companies. JUSCO also got the winners award for “outside the fence” category at Jamshedpur. Noamundi Iron Mine was identified as a “Noteworthy Water Efficient Unit in “within the fence category”.

The award was received by Mr Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel & Chairman, JUSCO along with Mr Ashish Mathur, MD, JUSCO and the Water Management Team at JUSCO. Mr UP Singh (Additional Secretary and Director General), National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Water Resources was present at the ceremony to handover the awards during the 3rd Water Innovation Summit 2017 at New Delhi.

Mr Bhaskaran said, “It is very encouraging to be recognized for efficient management of natural resources. It motivates us to be on this path of continuous innovation and improvement.” He further added that the continued focus on water has seen a 35% reduction in specific water consumption at Jamshedpur Works in the last five years.

Expressing happiness on receiving the award, Mr Pankaj Satija, General Manager (OMQ), Tata Steel said, “We are honoured to receive this award for excellence in water management. We`ve adopted the 4R strategy of Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and Research for the betterment of our environment and conservation of natural resources. Conservation of water is a continuous process in all our mines and different initiatives are taken both in the mines and processing plants to excel further. We implement scientific mining practices to ensure zero discharge.”

Water conservation through optimum use of water and efficient water harvesting and recycling is one of the primary objectives of Tata Steel. The company has been conserving water through various processes such as large-scale rainwater harvesting projects, water recovery and recycling, protection of water sources at the mines and Zero water discharge at the Collieries to name a few. JUSCO has also undertaken several initiatives to reduce reuse and recycle natural resources especially in the wastewater sector. Jamshedpur is probably the first city in the country to become Zero Liquid Discharge. Water management practices at JUSCO also include, Packaged Sewage Treatment Plan and Medical Effluent Treatment Plant for localized treatment of sewage and effluent.

The objective of the award is to recognize and reward outstanding innovation, promising water conservation and management practices undertaken by Indian industries from varied sectors. The environmental policy of Tata Steel emphasizes for efficient use of natural resources & energy and promotion for waste avoidance and recycling measures.