Rs 100 cr rainwater harvest scheme on anvil

The scheme is planned for five years

The state water resources department has come up with a scheme for rooftop rainwater harvest and groundwater recharge plan meant for urban areas.

The scheme estimated to cost Rs 100 crore, is planned for five years.

The department has formulated a draft note for implementation of the scheme and has sought comments from other departments. It will finally seek approval of the expenditure finance committee (EFC) under the finance department.

By implementing the scheme, the water resources department intends to augment ground water recharge, improve water table, water quality condition in all 105 urban local bodies of the state. The scheme is being planned to support the daily water need of urban areas of the state as nearly 40 per cent public water supply in cities and towns come from groundwater, the draft note said.

The scheme involves construction of PVC pipelines to collect rainwater from rooftop and linkage to either a small filter unit or storage unit or water recharging unit in the depth of 10 to 50 meters.

Initially, the scheme will be implemented in all government, residential and non-residential buildings. Apart from government buildings, private homes can also take advantage of the scheme, the draft note mentioned.

"Any person in any urban local body owning a building with a roof area of up to 200 sqm (square metre) will be eligible to be covered under the scheme. Initially, the eligible owner will execute the RRHS (Rooftop Rainwater Harvest Scheme) at his own cost, and after completion and testing by authorised officer, he can claim subsidy," the note added.

In the next five years, the government has plans to cover a total of 16,955 buildings under the scheme, including 550 government-owned buildings.

The scheme would be implemented during 2014-15 to 2018-19. The building owners can start taking the benefit of the scheme from this year, as per the scheme plan details.

The total budget of the scheme includes works, subsidy, publicity, consultancy, training, implementation overhead, surveys and monitoring activities to be spent in the next five years.