Govt to use sea water to overcome crisis

The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it was exploring utilisation of sea water as one of the alternative means for meeting acute water crisis that has gripped the country in recent years.

"Desalination of sea water for meeting requirements of different users such as agriculture, municipal and drinking, using low temperature thermal desalnation, reverse osmosis etc need to be explored and examined for their social and economic viabilities.

"The innovative approaches for adopting known, but hitherto, unexplored and exploited technologies would be necessary, " the Centre said in an affidavit filed through the department of science and technology.

The affidavit has been filed in response to an April 28 direction of the apex court on a PIL filed by an advocate M K Balakrishnan.

"The government has no right to be in office. You have no right to be in office if you can't provide water," Justice Markandeya Katju heading a bench with Justice H L Dattu had told Additional Solicitor General Parag Tripathi appearing for the Centre.

According to the Centre, though the problem of salinity would have to tackled, it seems that utilisation of sea water seems to be one of the logical methods to overcome water crisis.

"It seems logical to draw water supply from oceans in coastal areas on account of oceans serving as an abundant source," the Centre said.