The Hindu 10.06.2013
Rainwater harvesting norms yet to be enforced
State. The State government and local self-government institutions have
done precious little to conserve the monsoon rain received this year.
The
State government and civic authorities seem to be going slow on
enforcing the provisions for rainwater harvesting in the Kerala
Municipal Building Rules (KMBR). Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had said
that rainwater harvesting would be made mandatory for all buildings and a
Cabinet sub-committee comprising Minister for Urban Affairs
Manjalamkuzhi Ali; Minister for Panchayats M.K. Muneer and Minister for
Water Resources P.J. Joseph; was formed for framing the rules in this
regard.
Town and Country Planning Department sources told
The Hindu
on Sunday that rainwater harvesting was made mandatory for all buildings
and provisions were incorporated in the KMBR since December 2004. The
rules specified that “workable rooftop rainwater harvesting arrangements
shall be provided as an integral part of all new building
constructions” unless otherwise specifically stipulated in a town
planning scheme. This clause is applicable to buildings constructed for
residential, educational, commercial, and other purposes too.
Buildings
with thatched roofs have been exempted from the rules. The local bodies
concerned should enforce workable artificial groundwater recharging
arrangements as an integral part of all new buildings through collection
of rooftop rainwater.
Exemptions can be granted in
exceptional cases such as water-logging or impermeable subsoil
conditions to considerable depths. The Local Administration Department
issued the guidelines for enforcing the rule on March 17, 2004. The
government had taken a cue from a system in vogue in Tamil Nadu.
Though
the State had been witnessing a boom in the construction sector, the
civic bodies which issue all mandatory clearances for building
construction have not imposed the provisions so far. Almost all areas in
the five corporation limits, 53 municipalities and the majority of the
panchayats faced acute drinking water shortage. The Kerala Water
Authority had initiated punitive measures to prevent pilferage of
drinking water during the summer season, but to no avail.
Official sources told
The Hindu
here that instead of forming a Cabinet sub-committee to frame a new set
of regulations, the government could have well enforced the provisions
laid in 2004 for conserving the water during the current monsoon season.
