NGT asks AAP govt, DU to submit list of buildings lacking rain water harvesting system

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the AAP government and the Delhi University to submit within two weeks a list of buildings which have not installed rain water harvesting system.

A bench of Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore and expert member S S Garbyal passed the order noting that they have not furnished the list despite the order of the tribunal.

The tribunal's direction came on a plea filed by a city resident Mahesh Chandra Saxena seeking the implementation of November 16, 2017 order of the NGT which had directed the government as also private schools and colleges to install rainwater harvesting systems within two months at their own cost.

Despite the specific direction of the tribunal, they have not submitted the list of buildings, Saxena said.

He claimed that the government departments, educational institutions and residential societies have either not installed rainwater harvesting systems or have systems which are non-functional.

The tribunal had ordered that any institution which fails to install the rainwater harvesting system within the stipulated period would be liable to pay environment compensation of Rs 5 lakh.

It had directed schools and colleges to approach a committee constituted by it. The committee was to inspect the premises and grant permission to institutions for operating the system.

If it was not possible to install a rainwater harvesting system, the institution should approach the committee, it had said.

According to the tribunal, the institution that gets an exemption certificate will be subject to environment compensation, which would be used for setting up rainwater harvesting systems in possible nearby areas, including parks.