Delhi govt's rainwater harvesting programme draws flak

The initiatives to shore up the depleting water level through rainwater harvesting are "insufficient, lopsided and piecemeal" and in urgent need for revision, a leading expert said.

Delhi Government's initiatives to shore up the depleting water level through rainwater harvesting are "insufficient, lopsided and piecemeal" and in urgent need for revision, a leading expert said here.

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To make up for Delhi government's "lack of foresight", Jammia Millia Islamia has devised its own plan to train people in rainwater harvesting, a Professor in the University's Civil Engineering Department, Gauhar Mehmood told PTI.

He also hit out at the government's move to provide subsidy at a flat rate of Rs one lakh per housing society irrespective of their size and population.

"While Delhi government has permitted rainwater harvesting in 10,000 housing societies and other areas of the Capital, only 20 scientists have been deputed to provide critical inputs, which is not enough," Mehmood said.

Such a small group of experts cannot ensure implementation of a large-scale project like this which involves 10,000 housing societies.

To bridge the shortfall in technical inputs, Jamia will train more people about the process of rainwater harvesting and the programme with this end has started today, he said.

Mehmood, who is the coordinator of the training programme, said requirements of each society vary depending on its size and number of occupants to which the subsidy should have been linked instead of providing it at a flat rate.

He said Jamia's programme is aimed at training all the stakeholders in the rainwater harvesting project including heads, secretaries and senior personnel of important institutes of the national capital.