July 21, 2010

No takers for rooftop rainwater harvesting
SP Sharma

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 20
There is virtually no response to the mandatory provision of rooftop rainwater harvesting in this parched Malwa region of Punjab mainly because of indifference of the government functionaries and lack of awareness among the masses.

Although rooftop rainwater harvesting has been made mandatory in most states of the country, but in the Malwa belt of Punjab, the rule was being observed more in defiance.

While construction activity was in full swing in the main cities of Bathinda, Muktsar, Faridkot, Barnala, Ferozepur and Moga, the builders generally avoid installing rooftop rainwater harvesting structures. Officials of the local bodies were also not keen to implement the provision that aims at recharging groundwater.

What to talk of private bungalows, the water harvesting concept has not been provided even in sprawling government buildings that have come up in the recent past or were under construction.

The sandy Malwa belt in the neighbourhood of Rajasthan and Haryana receives annual rainfall ranging between 38 to 48 cms.

The authorities in Punjab, where the problem of speedy depletion of groundwater has become a serious issue over the passage of time, have failed to learn any lesson from the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh where the rule for provision of rooftop rainwater harvesting has been made mandatory for each and every private and government building irrespective of size.

Top officers in the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) and municipalities of other towns feigned ignorance about the provision in building byelaws. Commissioner of BMC, Ravi Bhagat, admitted that the rule was being observed more in defiance. There was a need to create awareness about the concept, he said.

Deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal expressed concern over the issue and stressed the need for strict implementation of the rule as the groundwater was depleting at a fast pace in Punjab and particularly in the Malwa belt where it has also got contaminated due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers.

He regretted that the rainwater was being allowed to flow waste in drains and the sewerage system. The waste water flowing out of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants that could be utilised for recharging groundwater was also flowing into the sewerage system of the towns, he added.

While in Punjab the building bye-laws were amended making it mandatory to install rainwater harvesting system in all buildings of above 200 square yards, the BMC has made it compulsory for all buildings on 500 square yards plots. However, this too has remained confined to the rulebooks and its implementation was nil.

Goyal said the rule could not be implemented in Bathinda, which is the main city of the Malwa belt, because due to a spurt in the price of land, the upcoming colonies had plots below the size of 200 square yards.

Hardly any initiative to create awareness on the issue was being taken by government agencies.

Announcing major amendments in the building byelaws in Punjab, local government minister Manoranjan Kalia had recently said that clubbing of plots for the purpose of constructing one unit with provision of rainwater harvesting system would be allowed.

Keeping in mind that the climate change was impacting resources of water, the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has urged the states to be pro-active in making the institutions adopt rooftop rainwater harvesting and promote artificially recharged ground water. The principle is to catch every drop where it falls.

A report of the CGWA indicated that no initiative was taken in the Malwa belt and particularly in the Muktsar district to create awareness and training for rooftop rainwater harvesting that would help recharge of groundwater.