Delhi Jal Board to offer financial assistance for rainwater harvesting system

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had earlier issued guidelines mandating owners of existing and new properties measuring 100 square metres and above to install rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures

New Delhi:Water minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will provide a financial assistance up to ₹50,000 and a rebate of 10% on water bills to those who install rooftop rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems in their homes.

Delhi water minister Satyendar Jain on Monday announced that DJB will give rebate on water bills for those installing rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures, and a financial assistance for setting up such structures. (ANI)

“For the installation of RWH systems, the government will provide financial assistance of 50% of the cost, up to a maximum of ₹50,000, along with a 10% rebate on water bills,” said Jain, who is also the chairperson of the DJB.

According to a statement issued by the DJB, plots measuring between 100 square metres and 199.99 square metres, will get a financial assistance of 50% of the total cost of the RWH structure or ₹10,000, whichever is lesser. Similarly, ₹20,000 or 50% of the cost of the RWH structure will be given for plots measuring between 200 sq m and 299.99 sq m, and so on.

Jain said the DJB will also adopt the Inline Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) system, which is a cost effective model and is being implemented in the tribal-dominated Dungarpur district of Rajasthan. The reason for adopting this model is that it does not require a heavy installation set-up. While conventional RWH system set-up requires ₹75,000 to Rs. 1 lakh, the Inline RWH System can be set up at a cost as little as ₹16,000, he said.

“This model uses innovative techniques and is centred on routing the rainwater directly to a bore well, instead of a regular rainwater-harvesting pit. The rainwater gets filtered within the pipe, removing any need for an additional filter system and harvesting pit. The Inline Rainwater Harvesting System comprises a pipe filter installed horizontally in the rainwater pipe. This pipe is then connected to non-functional and defunct bore wells. The filter media of the Inline Rainwater Harvesting System has a Geotextile membrane as cover, at the mouth of the rainwater pipe. This is followed by wire mesh at the entry point of the different media. This includes coarse sand, gravel/stone aggregate, gravel/stone aggregate. The total length of the filter media is around 90 cm,” he said.

The Delhi Jal Board had earlier issued guidelines mandating owners of existing and new properties measuring 100 square metres and above to install RWH structures. Now, it has extended the last date for the implementation of the RWH provisions till December 31, 2021. Also, it will no longer be mandatory to take DJB certification for rainwater harvesting systems from now on.

“The Kejriwal government has also relaxed the compliance guidelines…the installed RWH systems can be certified by an architect registered with the Council of Architecture on the condition that the structure is made as per DJB guidelines,” the statement said.