Although there is a considerable amount of rain falling in India’s cities, their rainwater collection level is very low. Rainwater harvesting cities India, NITI Aayog’s water index has indicated that 21 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, may face groundwater scarcity.
How Is the Matter Being Addressed?
Tamil Nadu was the first state to make rooftop rainwater harvesting mandatory since 2003, while Bengaluru took the step of making dual-pipe system compulsory in the year 2021 for using rainwater harvested by buildings. However, the enforcement is less robust in most Indian cities and there is limited data on the impacts of the changes.
How Cost-Effective Are the Measures?
Karnataka has seen a slight drop in groundwater abstraction rate from 68.44% to 66.49%. CGWB has credited the construction of 1.7 million structures as a part of Jal Shakti Abhiyan initiative. However, Bengaluru Urban is one of the five overexploited districts in the state.
What Initiatives Do Households Need To Adopt? – rainwater harvesting cities India
The harvested rainwater can be stored in recharge wells or borewells, a practice commonly used in Chennai and Bengaluru. Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari aims at popularizing primary household rainwater harvesting instead of just telling people to comply with the legislation.
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