JOIN USUsing treated water for construction must for OC: BWSSB
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has asked the Palike to refuse Occupancy Certificates (OC) if the building owner did not use treated water for construction.
The move, meant to ensure that treated water is used effectively for the intended purpose, follows the BWSSB's recent announcement that it would refuse permission to drill borewells if the purpose is mentioned as construction.
The latest decision is to ensure builders do not get permission for borewells by stating that the purpose is for drinking water and later use it for construction. "It is quite possible that they’d use borewell or freshwater for construction purposes and waste the precious resource," B C Gangadhar, BWSSB’s chief engineer (maintenance), told DH.
"Our intention is to bring down dependency on freshwater. When there’s an alternative to freshwater, they can use it," he added.
Though the BWSSB is supplying treated water to several city establishments through separate tankers, the list of organisations using the water is more government than private. The board is now focused on ensuring that the public does not waste the increasingly scarce freshwater for construction. It is poised to make treated water compulsory, irrespective of the building dimensions.
"The owner will be asked to submit bills or records of buying treated water from our STPs. Based on the bills produced, the officials will calculate the usage of treated water with the built area of the building while giving permission. A letter (on the issue) has already been sent to the BBMP and the orders will be passed shortly," Gangadhar said.