KAVERI BHAVAN:If you have not yet installed a rainwater harvesting (RWH) system, this is a good time to do it. Otherwise, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) might make you cough up eight times your current rate for water.
According to data available with Express, on an average, fewer than 4,000 owners are implementing RWH every year, which is said to be unsatisfactory compared to the number of new houses in the city.
The BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief told Express that there was a proposal to levy commercial rate -- eight times the current rate -- on domestic owners who have not implemented RWH. The issue will come up at a board meeting on Thursday for approval.
“We have data on every individual building. When they applied for a water connection, owners would have mentioned the dimension of the building. We will get this year-wise. Our officials will check their water bills and against the dimensions,” he warned. “If the bill comes up to a hefty amount, it means they are using only BWSSB water and have not implemented RWH. Such owners will pay a heavy price.”
Those who have implemented rainwater harvesting are less dependent on BWSSB water, said Assistant Executive Engineer B M Manjunath.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Act, making rainwater harvesting compulsory, came into force in 2009. During 2011-12, more people started implementing RWH, Manjunath said.
“We conducted ward-wise awareness programmes involving the respective MLAs and councillors. We had given training to more than 1,700 plumbers, builders and architects,” he said. Lakhs of people who visited the RWH theme park in Jayanagar that came up in 2012 have implemented it, he added.
BWSSB Chairman T M Vijay Bhaskar said that though the board had created awareness, many had not implemented RWH. “Now, if the Board decides to make them pay more, domestic consumers will have no choice but to implement it,” he said. “We will not give any time frame. It is likely to come into force with immediate effect. However, it will be discussed at the Board meeting.”
What the Act says
According to section 72A of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Amendment) Act 2009, within nine months from the date of commencement of the act, every owner of a building on a site of 2,400 sq ft (60 X 40 site) and above or every owner who proposes to construct a building on a site of 1,200 sq ft (30 X 40 site) shall provide RWH, failing which board will provide RWH facility and recover the cost.
In 2011, BWSSB issued a notification which said if owners do not implement RWH, water connection will be disconnected after they are heard.