The city residents and councillors of Kochi Corporation continue to be apathetic towards rainwater harvesting even as a harsh summer is staring at the city.
Though the city administration had prepared plans to install the facility in 1,212 houses at subsidised rates, it received only less than 50 applications as the November 30 deadline for the project ended.
The poor response to the rainwater harvesting scheme announced in the city under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is an example of the indifference towards the project though water scarcity has been reported from many parts of the city.
Incidentally, none of the 74 councillors of the civic body has responded to the project for implementing rainwater harvesting projects in their homes.
There would have been at least 74 applications, if all the councillors had come forward for installing the facility, said an official associated with the project.
Acute shortage
Most of the annual 3,000 mm rain that Kochi receives is lost as there has not been any significant effort to tap it. A study carried out by the Water Institute of the SCMS School of Engineering, Kalamassery, had earlier identified 26 wards of the corporation facing acute drinking water shortage.
The institute had also estimated that 10-sq km area of the roofed area of the city could be used for the harvest.
Though an individual unit proposed at a home, including the 500-litre storage tank, filter, and channels, to direct the water to the storage facility would cost Rs.11,000, a beneficiary needs to pay just Rs.2,750. The rest (Rs.8,250) is offered as subsidy by the AMRUT mission.
Kochi had received accolades from the Mission authorities for including rainwater harvesting in the programme.
The water that is collected in excess of the storage facility will be utilised to recharge the wells in the homes.
Experts had suggested rainwater harvesting and recharging of wells to improve the groundwater table and create fresh water zones. Such measures will also prevent saline incursion, according to water management specialists.
