Rs. 20 crore sinks in rain water harvesting plan

HYDERABAD: Not only has the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (HMWS&SB) proposed Rain Water Harvesting Cell (RWH Cell) hit a wall, many people who had already paid for the service have their money stuck in a dead-end scheme.Under the Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Trees Act —2002 (APWALTA), the Water Board had collected money from the consumers to the tune of  Rs. 20 crore in the name of constructing structures to harvest rain water.But not even 30 per cent of them have been constructed in the the last six years.Under the act, the state government had made it mandatory for the customers applying for new and enhanced water connections to pay consultancy and construction charges to establish water harvesting pits on their plots.The main objective was to tap rain water and help recharge the depleting ground water table and was aimed at promoting water conservation.The Water Board in April 2005 issued orders to deputy general managers (DGMs) and managers to collect the charges for the construction.In the last six years, about 25,000 customers approached the RWH Cell and the Board collected almost Rs. 20 crore.But RWH pits were constructed for only about 6,500 customers.The remaining are yet to be taken up.Customers who are making rounds of the Water Board office demanding the Board to either return their money or start construction work get the standard reply.Officials say that the RWH Cell has not been functioning properly for the last few years due to inadequate staff.When asked to return the money, they shrug their shoulders and say the senior officials have to take a call on that.The Water Board had fixed charges for the construction of the RWH pits.For example, a pit for an individual house on a plot area between 200 to 300 sq.mtrs would cost Rs. 2,500 while a multi-storey building in the same area would cost Rs. 7,500.The charge could go up to Rs. 32,500 for a multistorey building in an area above 900 sq metres.Recharging groundwaterNature replenishes groundwater resource annually through seasonal rainfall which infiltrates through soil layers.Taking 780 mm as average rainfall in Hyderabad, for a plot of 100 sq.m, total volume of rainfall recharge would be 55 cubic metres, equal to 55,000 litres of water.Rainwater may be utilised for recharging groundwater levels.Stormwater run-off can be utilised to recharge groundwater levels by diverting it into suitably designed structures near pavements, parking lots, parks and playgrounds