Hyderabad: Several house owners and Resident Welfare Associations who were encouraged by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to set up rainwater harvesting pits before the monsoons are still waiting for the promised reimbursements.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, concerned about the depleting groundwater in Greater Hyderabad, had urged individuals and societies to set up harvesting structures for which the municipality had promised to bear 50 per cent of the cost.
The civic body had targeted 10,000 pits within its jurisdiction this year and had earmarked about Rs 6 crore for them.
B.T. Srinivas, member of a Resident Welfare Association in Malkajgiri said, “The GHMC in May had promised to reimburse 70 per cent of the cost to house owners for constructing pits in their homes and 50 per cent in common places like parks and community halls.”
“Above 650 structures were constructed across Malkajgiri, but very few individual were paid back. Following the directions, we have also submitted the applications with photographs. However the money (around Rs 2,600 per pit) has not been reimbursed. Most of the pits were not inspected by the zonal officials as well,” Srinivas added.
Ashwin Kumar, another resident welfare member of Shanthinagar, Masab Tank, said that around eight pits were set up wrongly at Santhinagar this year. “Few of the structures were dug by GHMC employees as well. However, they had dug in places where there was no water flow. Most of the structures are in parks and open spaces, which are of no use.
Shanthinagar has around 18 pits of which eight are wrongly dug up,” he said. “During the process of granting building permission, the corporation also collects money for rain water harvesting structures.
We ask the civic authorities to at least reimburse the participant from those funds. They even assured individuals who set up these pits voluntarily that they would be given some amount. However, even that has not been done,” he added.
When contacted, a GHMC official who did not want to be named, said, “The engineering wing of the civic body, zonal or circle wise, will inspect the pits at their level, following which a status report will be sought and funds will be released soon.”
