<p>Recently, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced that it will set up rainwater harvesting systems at 17 Metro Stations, saving a large amount of the water that flows down its station parapets every monsoon.<br /><br /> Previously, the National Green Tribunal had directed it to salvage the nearly eight crore litres of water that go down the drain along the length of its network. <br /><br />But, is this sufficient in a city of millions where rainy days are as small as 20-30 days? Several areas have also been labelled ‘dark zones’ in terms of underground <br />water levels and the city remains parched every summer season.<br /><br />It is fairly well known that efforts at popularising rainwater harvesting in individual households in the city have nearly failed. Owing to the high cost of setting up individual systems – which goes up to a lakh – the general populace has shown little interest in conserving water from the skies.<br /><br /> Resultantly, Government agencies also seem to be losing interest limiting themselves to bringing out advertisements in the media only. What else can be done on this front?<br /><br />Nitya Jacob, head of policy at WaterAid, an NGO that works on water and sanitation concerns, says, “As a researcher I have worked with the DJB for long and can attest to the fact that they can be much more proactive. <br /><br />Just taking up some model projects to implement rainwater harvesting like Varunalay is not enough. It has tobe a city-wide campaign.”<br /><br />“At the same time, I would recommend that the Government simultaneously approach institutions and RWAs where rainwater harvesting can be implemented on a larger scale and a far bigger quantity of water can be rescued.</p>.<p> The systems must be put in place in parks and gardens too and definitely roads which cover a sizeable surface area of the city.”<br /><br />Govind Singh, a research scholar on environmental studies is in favour of geographical studies to map those areas which are most “water-scarce.” “Some areas like Chhattarpur are absolutely in the red in terms of underground water. <br /><br />They desperately need in-depth studies on how they can be recharged using mediums like rainwater harvesting.<br /><br /> Simultaneously, for residential plots which takeup a large amount of area, rainwater harvesting must be made mandatory by law.”<br /><br />Mamata Singh of NGO Force, which has been helping DJB with rainwater harvesting efforts for long, says, “Unfortunately, the initiative cannot be one sided. <br /><br />Some enthusiasm has to be shown by people as well. We cannot come down to a situation in which Chennai landed some years back and then start thinking about <br />rainwater harvesting.”<br /><br />“Also, the Government must actively promote rainwater conservation not just in summer but throughout <br />the year.” <br /></p>
<p>Recently, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced that it will set up rainwater harvesting systems at 17 Metro Stations, saving a large amount of the water that flows down its station parapets every monsoon.<br /><br /> Previously, the National Green Tribunal had directed it to salvage the nearly eight crore litres of water that go down the drain along the length of its network. <br /><br />But, is this sufficient in a city of millions where rainy days are as small as 20-30 days? Several areas have also been labelled ‘dark zones’ in terms of underground <br />water levels and the city remains parched every summer season.<br /><br />It is fairly well known that efforts at popularising rainwater harvesting in individual households in the city have nearly failed. Owing to the high cost of setting up individual systems – which goes up to a lakh – the general populace has shown little interest in conserving water from the skies.<br /><br /> Resultantly, Government agencies also seem to be losing interest limiting themselves to bringing out advertisements in the media only. What else can be done on this front?<br /><br />Nitya Jacob, head of policy at WaterAid, an NGO that works on water and sanitation concerns, says, “As a researcher I have worked with the DJB for long and can attest to the fact that they can be much more proactive. <br /><br />Just taking up some model projects to implement rainwater harvesting like Varunalay is not enough. It has tobe a city-wide campaign.”<br /><br />“At the same time, I would recommend that the Government simultaneously approach institutions and RWAs where rainwater harvesting can be implemented on a larger scale and a far bigger quantity of water can be rescued.</p>.<p> The systems must be put in place in parks and gardens too and definitely roads which cover a sizeable surface area of the city.”<br /><br />Govind Singh, a research scholar on environmental studies is in favour of geographical studies to map those areas which are most “water-scarce.” “Some areas like Chhattarpur are absolutely in the red in terms of underground water. <br /><br />They desperately need in-depth studies on how they can be recharged using mediums like rainwater harvesting.<br /><br /> Simultaneously, for residential plots which takeup a large amount of area, rainwater harvesting must be made mandatory by law.”<br /><br />Mamata Singh of NGO Force, which has been helping DJB with rainwater harvesting efforts for long, says, “Unfortunately, the initiative cannot be one sided. <br /><br />Some enthusiasm has to be shown by people as well. We cannot come down to a situation in which Chennai landed some years back and then start thinking about <br />rainwater harvesting.”<br /><br />“Also, the Government must actively promote rainwater conservation not just in summer but throughout <br />the year.” <br /></p>
