State government to make rainwater harvesting compulsory

by GLENN COSTA
Posted on 2008-10-29
PANAJI - The state government is all set to make rain harvesting compulsory in the state with the Town and Country Planning Department merging various guidelines from the Union government and other institutions and putting them together to make a Goa-specific policy that will be unique for the state.
The state will also give subsidies as a sort of incentive. “We have tried to merge one policy from various guidelines all over the country to avoid confusion and put it together in a Goa-specific package,” Mr Morad Ahmed of the TCP department told ‘The Navhind Times.’ The policy once notified will be implemented by the water resources department and will apply to the entire state. Though Goa gets a lot of rain, the state has felt a lot of pressure on its water resources with many places not getting water for days and others getting it only for a few hours a day. Compounded with frequent breakages in the pipelines, water has become a premium product in the state with immense pressure being put on the groundwater. The department has already sent the document to the government.
The new policy defines rainwater harvesting as the water management techniques and is the practice of collecting rainwater from the roof of houses or buildings and storing the collected water in underground or over ground storage containers like tanks. However the policy does not include rainwater harvesting for groundwater recharge.
Rainwater harvesting will be mandatory for residential complexes including apartments on plot areas of 2,000 sq mt and above, commercial complexes on plot areas of 1,500 sq mt and above and industrial units on plot areas of 10,000 sq mt and above. An important point is that all the users of these groups who will make use of sewage treatment plants or waste recycling processes in their premises will be exempted from the mandatory inclusion of rainwater harvesting structures in their building.
Procedurally along with the building plans submitted at the time of getting approvals, the owners or builders, as the case may be, shall submit the detailed drawings and estimates for rainwater harvesting structures to be incorporated and all have to be prepared and signed by a registered civil engineer. The licensing authority will forward all plans to the executive, Works Division-I or II, water resources department, as the case may be who will examine the plans, designs, drawings and estimates for their technical soundness and inspect the site if necessary. On obtaining the building completion certificate from the licensing authority, the owner can apply for subsidy.