Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board racks up Rs 3 crore fine from rainwater harvesting defaulters in a month

BENGALURU: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has raised nearly Rs 3 crore in penalties (from May 1-31) from 83,026 commercial and non-commercial consumers which had not installed rainwater harvesting structures. They were among the 1,95,172 properties required to put RWH systems in place.
The total dues owed to the water board for RWH non-compliance vary from month to month as some consumers install the mechanism to avoid paying monthly penalties and those with fresh connections don’t set up the required infrastructure immediately.
Domestic users are penalized 25% of the total water and sanitary charges for the first three months and thereafter, an additional charge of 50% on the bill till the RWH infrastructure is established. For a non-residential building, the additional charge is 50% of the total water and sanitation bill for the first three months and 100% of the total bill after that.
According to BWSSB officials, residential properties are the major defaulters, whereas most commercial properties are complying with the 2016 government notification mandating RWH system installation.
“People are becoming more aware of the importance of saving water but the progress could have something to do with an additional push. The majority of commercial establishments are complying with the norm as compared to domestic users, possibly due to the higher penalties. Residents should understand it is in their own interest to install rainwater harvesting systems. They can save on Cauvery water and don’t have to rely so much on borewells. The required infrastructure comes at a one-time cost of approximately Rs 10,000,” said an executive engineer with the BWSSB’s I-T department.
According to the notification, under Section 72a of the Bangalore Water Supply And Sewerage Act, 1964, every owner of a building standing on a site area of not less than 216 sqm (approximately a 60x40 site) built before 2011 or every owner who proposes to construct a building on a site not less than 108 sqm (30x40) has to ensure an RWH mechanism either for storage or for groundwater recharging.
Box: A slow game: Water expert
AR Shivakumar, water expert and principal scientific officer, Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology, IISc, said benefiting from rainwater harvesting is a slow game, with several factors contributing to it not picking up pace.
“The rules have been framed in such a way that for every square metre of the roof, they (users) need to show 20 litres of water as stored. If this is followed, occupants would be able to harvest 30% of the total precipitation. We can’t enforce extreme measures like every drop of water must be saved,” he said.
“The incidence of RWH implementation in peripheral areas, not serviced by BWSSB, is more as people value it more. The low water tariff — citizens are paying only Rs 6-7 for 1,000 litres of Cauvery water — could also be contributing to the hesitation to invest. We hope people will learn from their neighbours and implement the system to avoid paying fines,” he said.