By Ashish Rajput :
 

The district administration, in association with Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC), will soon start a fresh campaign to encourage residents to adopt rainwater harvesting. As part of the initiative, rainwater harvesting systems will be installed at selected Government and private buildings across the city. These demonstration models will serve as examples to motivate businessmen, institutions and residents to adopt rainwater harvesting systems at their own establishments. This is not the first time such an initiative has been taken in the city. In the past, similar campaigns were launched ahead of the monsoon season to promote water conservation. However, despite repeated awareness drives, the results of these campaigns have often fallen short of expectations.

 

According to Municipal Corporation norms, the installation of rainwater harvesting systems is mandatory in all new constructions. The civic body does not approve the layout of any new residential or commercial building unless provision for rainwater harvesting is included. Under the Municipal Act, builders are also required to deposit a security amount while seeking approval for new construction projects. This amount is refunded only after the rainwater harvesting system is installed. However, in most cases building owners prefer to forfeit the security deposit rather than invest in installing the system, as they consider the installation cost to be higher.