Experts ask why the city is so reluctant to adopt rainwater harvesting.
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has decided to slap fines on residents whose houses measure 40 feet X 60 feet or above, and do not comply with the rule that requires compulsory harvesting (RWH). The notification announcing RWH as compulsory was issued on August 26, 2009; the government had offered a period of nine months for the installation of RWH units. The fine for not falling in line with the RWH notification will be imposed from May 27, 2010.
BWSSB identified 55,613 units where RWH systems had to be set up. Of these, only 8,186 have so far complied with the notification and set up rainwater harvesting units. The largest number of units identified for the installation of the RWH units was in North Bangalore. Of the 14,100 units that were identified here for installation of the RWH mechanism, only 2,469 have so far complied with the rule. The least number of units identified for fitting the RWH mechanism lie in Central Bangalore, where 40 of the 325 units identified have complied with the rule.
“The introduction of systems for harvesting rain water has been made mandatory, and only after that have homes begun to set up such systems. Environmental awareness appears to be limited,” a BWSSB official said.
Executive secretary of the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST), AR Shivakumar, said, “Enquiries have been pouring in, but only after the new regulation.” Shivakumar was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the six-day-long trainers’ training programme on ‘Sustainable Harvesting and Ground Water Recharge in Developing Countries, HRD and Technology Transfer’.
Nearly 1000 visitors have so far visited the office of the KSCST, located within the campus of the Indian Institute of Science, seeking help with the installation of the RWH systems. “It is sad that though people spend Rs30-40 lakh to make a home, they think it a waste to spend an additional Rs1 lakh to get the rainwater harvesting system or solar panels installed. These things ought to be taken up voluntarily, for they save costs in the long run,” said Arun P Kulshreshtha, director, science and technology, non-aligned and other developing countries.
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