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Chandigarh MC to harvest rainwater accumulated on roads
The rainwater harvesting facility will be first implemented on a pilot basis in one of the locations in southern sectors in Chandigarh where the MC has decided to install the same. A budget of ₹2.5 crore has been allocated in the 2023-24 budget.
The Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) is all set to have rainwater harvesting facility in the UT where rainwater accumulated on the pavements and roads will be harvested directly with the latest technology.
The project will be first implemented on a pilot basis in one of the locations in southern sectors where the civic body has decided to install the same. A budget of ₹2.5 crore has been allocated in the 2023-24 budget.
MC commissioner Anindita Mitra said, “We are looking for the location in the southern sectors and the project will come up with the latest technology which has been picked up from Bengaluru.”
On being asked about any specific location that has been selected, she said, “As of now we have zeroed in on certain locations and it would be finalised by the end of the next week. We aim to install it before this monsoon so that the work begins soon. Once it is successful as a pilot project, we will implement the same in the other parts of the city.”
50 community centres to have rainwater harvesting
The MC has also decided to install rainwater harvesting facilities in all its 50 community centres in Chandigarh. The civic body had already approved a budget of ₹2 crore for the same. Installing one rainwater harvesting system at one community centre will cost the MC about ₹15 lakh.
Mitra said, “We will be floating the tenders in March-end and the work will be completed by December this year.”
After the Union government launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan in 2019, the UT administration decided to make rainwater harvesting mandatory for buildings of all educational institutes, residential and industrial buildings constructed with size 1 kanal and above, group housing societies, commercial establishments, hospitals, religious institutions, clubs etc.
However, even after four years of the said order, the same remains unexecuted as only around 100 buildings have functional rainwater harvesting system of the total 826 buildings surveyed. The survey was conducted in July 2019 in compliance with the Jal Shakti Abhiyan which mandates for intensive water conservation measures in identified water-stressed blocks and districts across the country.
As per an engineering department survey, 93 government buildings, including 56 schools and colleges, have rainwater harvesting system.
City 256th in list of water-stressed districts
Chandigarh, which is at the 256th place in the list of water-stressed districts, is part of the Phase 1 of this campaign.
The water table in the city has receded below 300 feet and there are areas such as Raipur Khurd where it has even crossed 350-ft. Moreover, two dozen MC tubewells have also gone dry due to the falling water table levels.
