Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has developed indigenous technology for conversion of sea water to potable water.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) through its autonomous Institute National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has developed Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) technology for conversion of sea water to potable water which has been successfully demonstrated in Lakshadweep islands.
Three desalination plants based on the LTTD technology have been developed and demonstrated at Kavaratti, Agati and Minicoy Islands of Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The capacity of each of these LTTD plants is 1 Lakh litre of potable water per day.
Based on the success of these plants, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) through Union Territory (UT) Lakshadweep has entrusted the work of establishing 6 more LTTD plants at Amini, Androth, Chetlet, Kadmat, Kalpeni and Kiltan with a capacity of 1.5 lakhs litres/day. The LTTD technology is found suitable for Lakshadweep islands where the required temperature difference of about 15⁰C between sea surface water and deep-sea water is found in the vicinity of Lakshadweep coasts only as of now.
The cost of desalination plant depends on a number of factors inter alia which includes technology used and location of plant. The total cost of the six LTTD plants in Lakshadweep islands is Rs. 187.75 cr.