Dikshit makes a point with her half-bucket bath

Saving water

"I use half a bucket of water for taking bath during summer and ask other family members to follow," chief minister Sheila Dikshit said on Thursday, exhorting citizens to conserve the scarce natural resource.

With Delhi facing problem of acute water shortage, Dikshit also asked authorities to implement government norms on mandatory installation of rain water harvesting facilities in all new buildings built on plot size of 100 square meters and above.

Highlighting importance of rain water harvesting, Dikshit asked RWAs and principals of schools and custodians of parks and gardens to take up installation of rain water harvesting system as a "movement".

"The ground water level was so high 40 years back that the water had to be pumped out to prevent seepage in buildings in various places in Delhi.

“Today, it has gone down alarmingly," Dikshit said while speaking at a seminar on rain water harvesting organised by Delhi jal board in association with environment department.
She also stressed on the need to simplify procedures to support those who want to install rain water harvesting system.

All buildings having a minimum discharge of 10,000 litres and above per day require to install waste water re-cycling systems which can be used for horticultural purposes.
Various stakeholders including representatives of RWAs, NGOs, consumer organisations attended the workshop.

The workshop was organised to discuss the prospects of rain water harvesting in Delhi and to prepare an action plan.