Thiruvananthapuram: As per the Kerala Municipal Building Rules, an apartment complex whose rooftop has an area of 5,000 sq. ft needs to have a rainwater storage tank with 1.25- lakh- litre capacity. The majority of apartment complexes came up after the KMBR rules were amended in 2009 to include rainwater harvesting provisions. There could be around 200 such apartment complexes, but the corporation officials say they do not have any clear statistical data. They say that building permits are given only after ensuring that the plan has a rainwater harvesting unit. Still they complain of staff shortage when they are asked about the checks after the building is made.
Houses with floor area over 1,000 sq ft are supposed to have rainwater harvesting systems. The officials say that this is practically impossible. Even if rainwater is stored, this will get over in a few days, according to builders. Mr S.N. Raghuchandran Nair, former national vice-president, CREDAI, says, “take the per day per capita consumption to be 125 litres. Suppose there are four people in an apartment and there are 40 apartments. The water will get over in less than six days. Rainwater harvesting is not a solution.”
An apartment complex whose rooftop has an area of 5,000 sq ft receives 17.5 lakh litres of rainfall, according to experts. Mr Raghuchandran Nair says that the additional amount of water received should be used for groundwater recharge. While he argues that rainwater harvesting will not be a solution, water conservation experts like V. Subhashchandra Bose says that it takes off the pressure on drinking water systems. “Apartment complexes usually build sumps, so they don’t need to build an additional storage tank. It should be easier for complexes to have a system,” he says.
