The State government is formulating a green building policy to promote rainwater harvesting in the jurisdiction of urban local bodies, said Minister for Urban Development U.T. Khader here on Wednesday.
At an awareness programme on rainwater harvesting organised by Kannada daily Udayavani , Mr. Khader said under the proposed policy, people would be asked to harvest rainwater in their houses.
Those who adopt rainwater harvesting would be given incentives. “We need to have stringent regulations that will make every one take up rainwater harvesting,” he said.
The Minister said the Urban Development Department was studying the rainwater harvesting models adopted in Kerala and Maharashtra.
“We will shortly come out with the draft policy,” he said, and added that a similar policy would be framed for solid waste management as well.
Ruing the poor level of awareness about rainwater harvesting in Dakshina Kannada, rainwater harvesting exponent and journalist Shree Padre said it was sad to see supply of water through tankers in the region that receives an average of 3,500 mm of rainfall annually.
Mr. Padre said it was necessary to tap rainwater on the rooftop of houses and recharge open wells. “While framing the law to make rainwater harvesting mandatory, it is necessary to make people aware that it is easy to adopt rainwater harvesting,” he said.
MLA for Mangaluru City South D. Vedavyas Kamath said Mangaluru City Corporation should ensure that open wells in the city do not get contaminated with sewage.
