Odisha govt to take up 1st phase roof-top rainwater harvesting in five towns

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jan 14:

The Odisha government today announced to undertake roof top rain water harvesting and its use on a pilot basis in Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur, Titlagarh, Jharsuguda and Brajrajnagar cities of the state in the first phase. The government has set a target to spend Rs 100 crore on this account in a period of five years.

Its implementation will be mandatory in newly constructed government buildings and quarters. The total number of buildings to be covered under the scheme is 16,995, including 550 government buildings and 16, 405 private buildings.

Private organizations will be provided a subsidy up to Rs 45,000 maximum for implementing the project.

“The scheme will be implemented in new government buildings and private buildings of the state. The government will provide subsidy up to 50 percent or maximum Rs45,000 to the private building owners having area below 2,150 sq ft,” said water resources secretary Pradeep Jena.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who approved the guidelines of the scheme Wednesday.

“The total number of buildings to be covered under the scheme is 16,995, including 550 government buildings and 16,405 private buildings”, Jena said.

Water Resources department of the state government will provide technical assistance for undertaking these projects.

Unemployed graduates and diploma holders in agriculture, civil, mechanical and environmental engineering will be provided specialized training for these projects and will be empanelled  as consultants with the Water Resources department.  Interested private building owners wishing to benefit under the scheme need to apply with their respective municipal authorities in their areas.

It may be recalled here that the same Odisha government had announced its plans for implementing ‘Rooftop rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge in urban areas of Odisha’, with an investment of Rs 100 crore in May last year.

The government had then proposed to implement the scheme from 2014-15 to 2018-19.

The scheme will be implemented through installation of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Systems (RRHS) in buildings by owners to augment ground water recharge, enhance the water table and improve water quality in the urban areas of the state.

The government had then announced that the scheme will be implemented in all 105 urban local bodies (ULBs) through mass adoption of RRHS in private buildings with rooftop area up to 200 sq m as well as all government buildings.

The scheme has been envisaged in light of the Odisha Ground water (Regulation, Development and Management) Bill, 2011 wherein adoption of RRWH has been made mandatory for certain types of buildings.

Rainwater Harvesting involves collection, filtering and use of rainwater, which falls on the rooftop (terrace or tile roof) and in the portico of the house.

Rainwater harvesting can be adopted for recharging of bore wells near the house. Recharging of bore wells should be done to prevent them from drying up and improve their water table.