BANGALORE: The deadline for installation of rain water harvesting (RWH) systems in all building measuring 40 ft x 60 ft in the city expired on Saturday.
Out of the 55,000 buildings, only 33,338 have installed RWH and the remaining 21,662 buildings have failed to meet the deadline. With no official communication from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the board said it has stuck its deadline of December 31.
Meanwhile, Urban Development and BWSSB Minister S Suresh Kumar told Express that there is a need to extend the deadline since the momentum is slowly picking up.
A final decision to this effect will be taken after meeting the board officials in a next couple of days, he added.
At a BBMP Council meeting recently, members cutting across party affiliations, sought the extension of the deadline for the installation of RWH till March 31, 2012. Taking note of this, BBMP Commissioner M K Shankarlinge Gowda had stated that he will take up the issue by writing a letter to BWSSB urging them to extend the deadline.
When contacted, P B Ramamurthy, Chairman, BWSSB, said, “We are sticking to December 31 deadline and we have not extended it further so far.”
Ramamurthy said his department has not received any official request from the BBMP seeking the extension of the deadline.
“Once we receive the letter, we will have a discussion with our board members, BWSSB Minister and then come to a conclusion whether to extend the deadline or not.”
If the RWH deadline has to be extended, a government order must be issued. Till date no government order has been issued. But the citizens need not panic as BWSSB will not disconnect water supply connections. It will be done only after serving notice.
“For the next one week, we will be sorting out the data received from all sub-divisions. This sorting will give us a clear picture on who all have installed and who haven’t. With the data, we will send notices to the buildings which have not installed RWH and seek replies. We will also analyse them case by case as why they have failed to install and reasons for the same. Then we will go ahead with the disconnection drive,” he noted.
Ramamurthy also said that they will examine the extension of deadline till March 31, if they receive official letter from the BBMP. “If the minister and our board approves, the extension notices will not be issued,” he said.
He also stated that those buildings or resident associations who have sought exemption will be spared from disconnection if their reasons are found to be genuine.
Clearing the air over the issue, he said the that exemption will be granted only after his officials and experts approve it.