Will rulebook bring relief?

To tide over the water crisis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is seeking recourse to the law book. To make water conservation necessary, the BMC has drafted water bylaws, reports HT Correspondent.

To tide over the water crisis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is seeking recourse to the law book.

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To make water conservation necessary, the BMC has drafted water bylaws.

A proposal to make necessary changes in the Development Control Rules (DCR) will be tabled by the BMC at the Improvements Committee meeting on Tuesday.

The BMC has decided to make recycling of used water mandatory for even existing buildings as against an earlier plan to enforce such a rule only for new buildings.

Used water, which can be reused for non-potable purpose, is referred to as grey water. If and when the bylaws are approved, they will become the law.

Under these bylaws, housing premises having an area of more than 2,000 sq m or those containing more than 80 dwellings will have to recycle and reuse grey water.

Housing, commercial and industrial premises using more than 60,000 litres of water daily will also be required to set up treatment facilities to recycle grey water.

“The bylaws have been drafted to help reduce dependence on municipal water for non-potable purpose,” said D.L Shinde, deputy municipal commissioner.

The bylaws also say that a housing complex might have to use up open space in its premises to set up a recycling plant. It is also stated that the plant will have to be restricted to 10 per cent of the recreation space available.

As for new structures, they will have to set up a grey-water recycling plant apart from the rainwater harvesting facility made mandatory since 2006.

Only when these criteria are met with, the BMC will issue a completion certificate.

If the recycling plant is not set up within the timeframe that will be specified, the BMC will levy a penalty of at least Rs 5,000, said civic officials.

As an incentive, the BMC has proposed a 25 per cent rebate in water and sewerage tax payable by housing societies.