The Hindu 24.07.2009
Rainwater harvesting to be mandatory in Bangalore
Special Correspondent
| Assembly passes Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill 2009 |
Tamil Nadu has already made rainwater harvesting compulsory across that State
Owners of buildings who fail to install such structures will be penalised
Bangalore: Rainwater harvesting has been made mandatory in the Bangalore agglomeration with the Legislative Assembly on Thursday giving its approval to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill 2009.
Rainwater harvesting in Bangalore will be compulsory nine months after the legislation takes effect.
Owners of existing buildings who fail to install a rainwater harvesting structure will be penalised. The BWSSB will install the structure and recover the cost from the owner or the tenant of the building as the case may be. For buildings on smaller sital areas, the Government is contemplating bringing forth community rainwater harvesting, although that is not part of the legislation that was ratified by the House.
Minister for BWSSB and Information Technology, Katta Subramanya Naidu, who piloted the Bill, said rainwater harvesting would be compulsory for all residential, commercial and industrial premises. While it would be applicable for all new structures constructed on a sital area measuring 1,200 sq ft and above (should be incorporated in the building plan), in the case of the existing structures it will be applicable for those built on a sital area of 2,400 sq ft and above.
The entire Opposition lauded the Government for bringing forth the Bill. As Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, S. Suresh Kumar, put it “all of us know the cost of water but not the value of water. It is time we bring in measures to harvest rainwater which will also help in improving the water table. Two decades ago, underground water was available at around 150 ft in Bangalore and today it is around 700 ft.”
As per the amendment “every owner shall provide for a rainwater harvesting structure within nine months from the date of implementation of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Act 2009 in a building having a sital area of not less than 1,200 sq ft in such a manner with such conditions as may be provided in the regulations, failing which the board may cause such rainwater harvesting structure and recover the cost from the owner or occupier as arrears of land revenue as the case may be. It is considered necessary to provide for making it mandatory to build rainwater harvesting structures by households in order to preserve the groundwater”.
With reference to the suggestions of the Opposition that the Government should choose to amend the Karnataka Municipalities Act and the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act to ensure that rainwater harvesting was compulsory across the State, Mr. Suresh Kumar said the Government wound amend the two Acts in the near future. Tamil Nadu had already made rainwater harvesting compulsory across that State and “we will also follow suit”.
Mr. Naidu said the BWSSB authorities were finding it difficult to supply drinking water to all residents although efforts were afoot to make available as much water as possible. The formation of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike with the addition of a number of adjoining villages apart from seven city municipal councils and a town municipal council had compounded the problem.
He said the BWSSB would shortly commission a rainwater theme park at Jayanagar and building owners could visit the park to learn on the various types of rainwater harvesting structures that could be installed. The BWSSB would also publish and circulate booklets on the rainwater harvesting systems.
