The Mysuru City Corporation has announced 10 per cent discount in water bill if rainwater harvesting systems are installed in households. The consumers would be getting a rebate on the actual bill if they submit details of rainwater harvesting to the MCC authorities in the prescribed format.
The MCC’s move has been aimed at encouraging the residents to opt for harvesting rainwater for improving the groundwater table besides minimising dependence on the water supplied by it.
The discount is applicable not only to domestic connections but also to non-domestic, commercial and industrial connections.
The rebate is applicable to those who have already installed the system. Those who don’t have the system can install it if they wish to get the rebate every month from February 1 onwards, the MCC said in a release.
However, the MCC clarified that the rebate is valid on the water consumed and the discount doesn’t apply to the UGD cess collected in the bill.
The eligible consumers are supposed to get the rainwater systems certified (authenticating their functioning and harvesting) from the executive engineer of the MCC once a year so as to get the rebate every year without any break.
The consumers wishing to get the discount can submit application with relevant documents to the office of Vani Vilas Water Works at Yadavagiri by downloading the application format from http://www.mysurucity.mrc.gov.in/en/forms
Rainwater harvesting in Mysuru has not gained traction due to lack of enthusiasm among the local bodies, including the MCC and MUDA, to promote the idea which conserves water for summer and helps in replenishing the water table.
Projects concerning rainwater harvesting had been proposed in the previous budgets but none took off as promised. The MCC had also proposed a project – a theme park for spreading awareness and encouraging residents to build rainwater harvesting systems at the time of construction – which too did not take off.
As per the plan, the theme park had been proposed to be a one-stop destination for the people to get to know about rainwater harvesting, how it can be installed and so on. The MCC had planned to seek CSR funds for developing the theme park.
