Lok Sabha Question No. 38 (STARRED), answered on 2022-02-03
Subject: Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Rita Bahuguna Joshi

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *38

ANSWERED ON 03.02.2022

## ROOFTOP RAINWATER HARVESTING

## *38. SHRIMATI RITA BAHUGUNA JOSHI

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the details of the steps taken by the Government for rooftop rainwater harvesting in the country;

(b)  the  funds  allocated  to  the  States  for  creating  sustainability  structures  for  rooftop  rainwater harvesting;

(c) whether there is any provision to make all the Government offices/buildings in the country equipped with rooftop rainwater conservation system; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

(a)     Water is a state subject and the Central Government supplements the efforts of the States on  water  conservation  and  recharge,  including  rainwater  harvesting,  through  technical  and financial support.

In rural areas, roof top rain water harvesting structures are taken up by the Department of Rural Development under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) implements Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in municipal areas which inter-alia includes rain waterharvesting as one of the project components.

MoHUA has formulated guidelines for the States to adopt measures suitable to local conditions, such  as  Unified  Building  Bye  Laws  (UBBL)  of  Delhi,  2016,  Model  Building  Bye  Laws (MBBL),  2016  and  Urban  and  Regional  Development  Plan  Formulation  and  Implementation (URDPFI)  Guidelines,  2014,  wherein  adequate  focus  has  been  given  on  requirement  of rainwater  harvesting  and  water  conservation  measures. As  per  MBBL,  all  buildings  having  a plot  size  of  100  sq.m.  or,  more  shall  mandatorily  include  the  complete  proposal  of  rainwater harvesting. 33 States/ UTs have adopted the features of these bye laws.

In addition, in order to boost construction of rain water harvesting structures in the country, the National Water Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken up a nationwide campaign 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan - Catch the Rain' (JSA:CTR) with the theme ' Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls ' for creating appropriate rainwater harvesting structures  in urban and rural areas of all the districts in the country, with people's active participation, during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods during 22.03.2021 to 30.11.2021.

Besides,  Government  of  India  has  taken  up  following  steps  to  encourage  roof  top  rain  water harvesting structures in the country:

(i)      States/  UTs  have  been  advised  to  enable  Rural  Local  Bodies/Panchayats  to  utilise  15 th Finance Commissions grants to take up rooftop rain water harvesting in Government buildings like panchayat, bhawans, anganwadis, Primary Health Centres etc.

(ii)         Master  Plan  for  Artificial  Recharge  to  Groundwater-  2020  has  been  prepared  which envisages  construction  of  about  1.42  crore  rain  water  harvesting  and  artificial  recharge structures in the country.

(iii)        National  Water  Mission,  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  has  been  organizing  workshops  and seminar  series  like  water  talks  to  stimulate  awareness,  build  capacities  of  stakeholders  and encourage people to become active participants to sustain life by saving water on earth which includes rooftop rainwater harvesting. National Water Mission has also requested all Ministries/Departments to construct rainwater harvesting structures in the buildings under their administrative control.

(iv)   Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has advised all States/UTs to take measures to promote/adopt artificial recharge to ground water /rain water harvesting.

(v)       National Water Policy (2012) advocates water conservation and rainwater harvesting.

(vi)      A  Model  Bill  has  been  circulated  to  all  the  States/UTs  to  enact  suitable  ground  water legislation for regulation of its development and for rain water harvesting. 19 States/UTs have adopted and implemented the ground water legislation on the lines of Model Bill.

(b)        15 th Finance Commission grants of Rs. 86,694.58 crore have been released to States to be  utilised  through  Rural  Local  Bodies  which  includes  disbursement  towards  expenditure  on rainwater  harvesting.  JSA:CTR  is  a  convergence  of  many  schemes  and  stakeholders.  The budgets provided by Central government, State Governments, Finance Commission grants and locally mobilised funds are used to fund the water related works including rainwater harvesting under JSA:CTR. As per the information uploaded on the JSA:CTR portal by Central Ministries/ Departments and the States Governments, as on 01.02.2022, 16,22,957 water conservation and rain harvesting structures have been completed/ on-going incurring an expenditure of Rs. 24,592 crore which include rooftop rain water harvesting.

(c) and (d)  As per the Model Building Bye Laws formulated by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs  (MoHUA),  it  is  mandatory  to  install  Rainwater  Harvesting  structures  in  Government buildings. Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS),  construction  of  roof  top  rain  water  harvesting  structures  in  Government  and Panchayats buildings is permissible. Central Ministries/  Departments  and Districts/State Governments/UTs have been requested to create  water  conservation  structures  which  include roof top rain water harvesting structures in government offices, buildings and premises across the country.

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