BMC move works,more buildings with rain harvesting come up

The BMC had issued an order in October 2002 making rainwater harvesting compulsory for all upcoming buildings having a plot area of more than 1000 square metres. In June 2007,it was made compulsory for all structures having an area of more than 300 square metres. The BMC claimed that it would not give OC (occupation certificates) to those buildings that do not set up rain harvesting plants. However,it was soon found that though builders showed rainwater harvesting plants in their plan,in many cases it remained only on paper as the BMC does not have a monitoring body to ensure that the plan is implemented. According to BMC officials,to counter this trend,CC (completion certificate) will not be issued to new projects that have not implemented rainwater harvesting henceforth.

But,despite the rise in numbers,Marathe claims that the overall response is still quite low. “Irregularities in seasonal rainfall are going to increase because of global climate change. Around 900 buildings across the city is still a very small number. We need each and every building to store,harvest and use rainwater,” Marathe said.

Of the 900 buildings that have implemented the plan,352 buildings are in Borivali and Dahisar. Meanwhile,in Bandra,Santacruz and Khar only nine buildings have set up the rainwater harvesting plants.

Amol Agarwal,a resident of Vora Ashish Housing Society in Malad (east),said after the residents of the building set up a rainwater harvesting plant,there has been an uniterrupted water supply.

“At a limited installation cost of Rs 2 lakh,we have been using rainwater for all non-potable uses like washing,gardening and flushing for two years. Now,we don’t need to depend on BMC water supply and we aren’t severly affected by the current water cut,” Agarwal said.