NDMC plans to harvest rainwater to fight crisis

Concerned with decreasing ground water level in the city, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) is planning to install rain water harvesting system on its building. Standing Committee deputy chairman Rajesh Bhatia said that the corporation will install rain water harvesting system in around 1,000 buildings, which includes schools, hospital and offices.

As per the plan, the civic body will start installing rain water harvesting system before the onset of monsoon. According to Mr Bhatia, the ambitious project will first start with buildings owned by the corporation.

Rainwater harvesting system will be installed in 1,000 building of the civic body, which includes 580 schools building, 118 community centres, 100 stores building, hospitals, dispensary and other buildings own by the corporation.

For installation of the system, the NDMC will be asking each councillor to get the system installed in five buildings of the civic body in their respective wards. “In the next two years, all NDMC building will have rain water harvesting system. The corporation will cover all buildings within two years. We will also make a provision in which each councillor will be empowered to install five rain water harvesting system in a financial year in their ward,” added Mr Bhatia.

The civic body has also decided to ask old residential and commercial complexes to make arrangements for water harvesting. “A deadline will be fixed later in this regard as the corporation also want the other government buildings to have water conservation systems,” he said.

Mr Bhatia said that experts claimed that the national capital receives 900 billion litres of rainfall every year and if this project is implemented properly, the NDMC can save several billion litres of water. “This amount of water can recharge the water table. Then, Delhi will not have to ask Haryana for water,” he added.