Bengaluru: With the ground water having plummeted to dangerous levels, the city is in the grip of a severe water crisis. Though Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) has made installation of rainwater harvesting (RWH) mandatory, only 1.12 lakh properties in the city have this facility.
The mindset of most house and flat owners is that if BWSSB is supplying water at affordable rates, then there is no need to invest in RWH, which they see as a costly affair. According to the BWSSB, more than 76,000 houses are yet to install the system. “Fines are imposed, but more than that there should be a realisation about water scarcity. They need to conserve water. Since the fine is low, the entire issue is taken for granted,” said a BWSSB official.
However, the residents counter that many government institutions too do not have RWH facility.
“The government should set up an example by installing RWH in their buildings. Yes, the process is slow but citizens are adopting it,” said Nidhish M., a resident from BTM Layout.
Senior scientist at Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology A.R. Shivkumar said the citizens are slowly realising the importance of RWH and adopting it. “We have a good policy in place. The violators are fined and the newly constructed houses are not given occupancy certificates if the RWH is not in place. The water consumption is high and the BWSSB is supplying water at a highly subsidised rate. May be tariff revision will drive many more towards the RWH,” he said. The RWH is mandatory for units above 30X40 sq ft in dimension.
