Most cities treat sewage as a problem. But Nagpur earns Rs 300 crore from it -- the city has figured out how to clean wastewater and sell it to industries that need it most!
Every day, Nagpur treats nearly 200 million litres of sewage through its network of treatment plants. Instead of letting it go to waste, the city turns it into usable, industrial-grade water.
Power plants, especially thermal plants, need massive amounts of water to keep their systems running. Now, instead of tapping into rivers or groundwater, they buy treated sewage water from Nagpur.
This helps in two big ways. It eases pressure on freshwater sources and brings in crores of municipal funds annually for the city.
Nagpur didn’t stop there. The city also collects organic waste from markets, homes and restaurants, and feeds it into special bio-digesters.
Inside these digesters, bacteria break down the waste and release methane gas. That gas is cleaned and turned into bio-CNG—a renewable fuel that’s already being used to power city buses and generators.
This means less garbage on the streets, less pollution in the air, and less money spent on petrol and diesel. It also creates new jobs in waste collection and biofuel production.
In Nagpur, waste isn’t just managed. It’s being transformed. Sewage becomes water. Garbage becomes fuel. The city runs cleaner and earns more.
Now imagine if every Indian city followed this model. Cleaner water. Cleaner air. No waste. No shortage. And crores in revenue that could fund better public services.
Nagpur’s story proves that with the right systems, even sewage can be valuable. This isn’t just good waste management—it’s a blueprint for the cities of tomorrow.