Two projects implemented by the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) founded and run by Dr Rashneh Pardiwala will conserve water and save electricity for the Directorate of Police Wireless Headquarters in Poona. Inaugurated on July 16, 2021, the rainwater harvesting project will overcome water scarcity and prevent flooding of the parade ground on the campus. Over a 25-year life span, the solar electricity project is estimated to generate 34,03,650 units and save nearly Rs 3.5 crore rupees (USD 468,083) on electricity bills.
Clockwise from top: Centre for Environmental Research and Education’s solar power and
ground water harvesting projects for Directorate of Police Wireless Headquarters;
Dilip Walse Patil with Dr Rashneh Pardiwala; Pardiwala
Comprising a pond that can hold 2.5 million liters of water, nine recharge pits, one well and five underground deep percolation trenches, "the rainwater harvesting project has the capacity to collect 40 million liters of water each monsoon,” stated a detailed note that Pardiwala sent to Parsiana. "The project diverts an additional 42 million liters of water into a groundwater aquifer by preventing flooding of their main open grounds,” stated the founder of CERE. This project was sponsored by Lord India Private Limited, a manufacturing company that produces high grade adhesives, rubber coatings, specialty chemicals, etc.
The solar electricity generation installation is a 113.45 kw rooftop system installed across six buildings. "The equivalent of 2,790.99 metric tons of carbon dioxide will be absorbed or saved from being emitted,” stated Pardiwala. The project has been sponsored by Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited as part of their corporate social responsibility initiative and was executed in partnership with Avesta Solar Private Limited, she stated.
The projects were inaugurated by Dilip Walse Patil, Maharashtra’s home minister, with Sanjay Pandey, director general of state police also present.
On the day after the inauguration, CERE won the EnviroCare Award for 2021. The Award was instituted in 2018 to "appreciate and motivate professionals and organizations to think green and contribute towards a nation that is not only progressive but also responsible towards its provider.” Winners are chosen from public and private organizations, startups, local bodies, nongovernmental organizations and municipal corporations. On receiving the Award, Pardiwala told Parsiana: "We have been working tirelessly since the past many years to promote environmental sustainability…but it’s only now, in the face of imminent climate change that our work is being recognized and appreciated… The pandemic has exposed the fragility of human life and how intrinsically our very survival is linked to nature and a healthy ecosystem.”