A couple of years ago, when an unprecedented drought hit Thiruvananthapuram city, there was much talk on the need to conserve every last drop of water and to strictly implement rainwater harvesting in houses and flats. But, like all such talks, nothing concrete happened on the ground, as people continued to pave the entire compound around their houses with colourful tiles, and much of the rainwater falling on the terraces draining out on to the roads.
The Kerala Municipal Building Rules of 1999 says that workable rainwater harvesting arrangements shall be provided as an integral part of all new building constructions. For residential buildings with floor area of 100 square metre or more and plot area of 200 square metre or more, the minimum capacity of storage tank is stipulated as 25 litres/square metre of the total floor area.
Unheeded, as ever
However, in checks carried out by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation of building plans as well as completed structures, before issuance of occupancy certificate, rainwater harvesting is still not looked at strictly.
Early this year, in March, the Corporation had carried advertisements in the media reminding the public that the rainwater harvesting conditions as stipulated by the rules of 1999 have to be followed strictly, but not many seem to have noticed it.
“In flats and larger residences, rainwater harvesting is being monitored to an extent. But, we have noticed instances where the owners show a storage tank for rainwater harvesting at the construction phase, but later convert it for other purposes, as a regular water storage sump or even as septic tanks. We will henceforth have strict monitoring, as the Town Planning Standing Committee has already prepared a proposal for the purpose,” says Palayam Rajan, Town Planning Committee Chairperson of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
New plan next week
As per the new plan, which is to be presented at the Corporation council meeting next week, rainwater harvesting will be made mandatory for houses above 1,500 square feet, while smaller rainwater pits will be made mandatory for houses of areas below that. Tiling of the compound surrounding the houses will also be restricted.
“We will have to ensure that rainwater harvesting is implemented in all households strictly. Else, we can’t go forward,” says Mayor V.K. Prasanth.
