The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur (IIT-K) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to establish an advanced water quality monitoring system for the city. The agreement was announced in the presence of Special Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Jayesh Ranjan.

The project will kick off in the third quarter of this year for what is being touted as “next-generation water surveillance and early-warning system” using Artificial Intelligence, real-time environmental monitoring, and advanced scientific research.

Unlike conventional water testing methods that rely on laboratory workflows and assess only a limited set of known parameters, the proposed platform will deploy non-thermal plasma spectroscopy and AI to analyse the complete optical signature of water samples enabling detection of heavy metals, industrial chemicals, microbial indicators, and emerging pollutants at parts-per-billion levels.

During the 12-month pilot phase, the programme is expected to analyse over 25,000 water samples across the Hyderabad metropolitan region, generating approximately 1.9 million individual data points covering chemical, elemental, and microbiological parameters. Operational coordination will be handled by the Metropolitan Surveillance Unit, Hyderabad, working alongside GHMC officials.

The School of Water Resources at IIT Kharagpur will lead the scientific and remediation strategy, drawing on institutional expertise in hydrology, contaminant modelling, and urban water systems. “We look forward to contributing scientific rigor, research leadership, and practical solutions to address this critical challenge,” said .Suman Chakraborty, Director of IIT Kharagpur.

Mr. Ranjan said: “We are excited to partner with some of India’s finest scientific institutions and innovators to build a model for water safety and environmental intelligence that can ultimately benefit not only Telangana, but people across India and the world.“ If the pilot succeeds, the Government of Telangana intends to expand the framework Statewide.