Why is there a drought of rainwater harvesting in mumbai

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THE AUTHORS ...................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................................................... 4 PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 7 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................................. 8 3. WHAT LED TO THIS REPORT? .......................................................................................................................... 8 4. MEDIA AND SOCIAL AWARENESS ON RAINWATER HARVESTING ............................................................................ 10 5. CURRENT GOVERNMENT POLICIES ................................................................................................................ 10 6. HOW GOOD IS THE FUNCTIONING OF MCGM’S RWH CELL? ............................................................................. 11 6.1. Observations on the functioning of the RWH Cell in MCGM ......................................................................12 6.2. Excerpts from MCGM’s booklets on awareness about water resource .....................................................13

7. A FEW RWH SUCCESS STORIES IN THE CITY ..................................................................................................... 14 8. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS FOR EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF RAIN WATER HARVESTING (RWH) CELL ...................... 15 9. RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCREASE ADOPTION OF RAINWATER HARVESTING ........................................................... 16 10. CHENNAI SERVES AS A PRECEDENT ............................................................................................................... 17 11. OTHER CITIES IN INDIA .............................................................................................................................. 18 12. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 20 ANNEXURE 1 - MCGM CIRCULAR, 2002 .......................................................................................................... 21 ANNEXURE 2 - MCGM CIRCULAR FOR IOD CONDITION FOR RWH, 2003 ............................................................... 22 ANNEXURE 3 - MCGM CIRCULAR, 2003 .......................................................................................................... 23 ANNEXURE 4 - WATER CONSERVATION AND RAIN WATER HARVESTING FOR BRIHANMUMBAI, 2003 ............................. 24 ANNEXURE 5 - MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT URBAN DEVELOPMENT NOTIFICATION ON RWH, 2007 ......................... 35 ANNEXURE 6 - RAINWATER HARVESTING BROCHURE, MCGM ............................................................................... 40 ANNEXURE 7 - CASE STUDIES OF RAINWATER HARVESTING IN MUMBAI .................................................................... 41 Sealine CHS, Khar (W) ........................................................................................................................................41 Sea Crown CHS, Charkop, Kandivali (W) ............................................................................................................42 Sea Hill CHS, Union Park Road, Khar (W) ...........................................................................................................43 Model Town, Mahakali Caves, Andheri (E) ........................................................................................................44 Vasant Valley Complex, Dindoshi, Goregaon (E)................................................................................................45 Patliputra CHS, Four Bunglows, Andheri (W) .....................................................................................................46

HARVEST TO HARNESS (H2H), 2004................................................................................................................ 47 ORF MUMBAI’S PUBLICATION ON WATER ......................................................................................................... 48 Ten key recommendations made by ORF Mumbai ............................................................................................49

ABOUT OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION MUMBAI .......................................................................................... 52

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Rishi Aggarwal Research Fellow, Observer Research Foundation Mumbai

Rishi is a social and environmental activist engaged in researching and creating discussion around various public policy matters. His areas of interest are urban governance and sustainability.

Email:

rishiaggarwal@orfonline.org

Mobile:

9820640324

Janki Pandya Associate Fellow, Observer Research Foundation Mumbai

Janki is a post graduate in Political Science from the University of Mumbai. She is interested in working on issues of urban governance and sustainable development.

She is also a citizen journalist, committed to making a difference to the society.

Email:

janki@orfonline.org

Mobile:

9867271753

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We extend our gratitude to Mr. Navin Chandra of Sealine CHS, Khar, Mr. Bobby Clement of Model Town CHS, Andheri, for sharing their experience and helping us learn the benefits of rainwater harvesting in their respective societies. We would also like to thank Mr. Gurjeet Singh Bedi of Osmosis Pvt Ltd, for arranging a personal visit to all the places studied in the report, which helped us get a first hand view of people’s experience on installation of rainwater harvesting system in their societies.

We offer heartfelt thanks to Ms. Roshni Udyavar for sharing her “Harvest to Harness” data.

We thank Satyajeet Shobha Shriram and Dr. Sumedh, Programme Coordinator at ORF Mumbai for designing the cover. We would also like to thank Aparna Sivakumar, Associate Research Fellow at ORF Mumbai and Dhaval Desai, Programme Coordinatora at ORF Mumbai for proofreading the report.

We owe sincere thanks to Mr. Sudheendra Kulkarni, Chairman, ORF Mumbai, for his support and encouragement throughout.

Finally, we would like to thank team ORF Mumbai for their constant support and encouragement.

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PREFACE

Sudheendra Kulkarni Chairman, ORF Mumbai

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Mumbai wastes more water ─ 900 MLD daily ─ than Pune’s total water supply of about 650 MLD every day!

Over the last 50 years, water supply in Mumbai has increased by 192.7% but water availability per person has reduced by 23.6% due to the city’s incredible population growth.

Many residents of the illegal slums in Mumbai are forced to pay more for their daily quota of water than what the city’s richest pay for their municipal water supply.

We pay Rs. 15 or more for 1 litre of bottled water. In contrast, BMC charges merely Rs. 4.00 per 1,000 litres of water ─ that is, less than 1 paisa (0.004 paisa, to be precise) for 1 litre of potable municipal water!

Ironically, the consumers of water in rural Maharashtra pay nearly double the rate that BMC, which is the richest corporation in the country, charges Mumbaikars.

Mumbai has a fleet of around 10,000 private water tankers, which make an annual profit of Rs. 1460 crore.

International cities like Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong and London all get 24x7 water supply. In Mumbai, water cuts are normal in summer months.

These, and many more startling revelations, find place in a landmark report that the Observer Research Foundation Mumbai published last year. Authored by my colleague, Dhaval Desai, it was titled ‘TIME IS RUNNING OUT – Does Mumbai Have Enough Water?’ It remains the most comprehensive study of the problems afflicting water supply in India’s commercial capital, undertaken by a governmental or non-governmental organisation. In addition to bringing out stark inefficiencies in the municipal management of water supply in Mumbai ─ which is fortunately better endowed with sources of water than many cities in India ─ the study also highlighted several baffling anomalies in the water economy in the city.

One of the major recommendations of Dhaval’s study urges Mumbai’s Municipal Corporation as well as its citizens to take up, as a mandatory duty, (a) waste water recycling and (b) rainwater harvesting.

As a follow-up to Dhaval’s report, my colleagues Rishi Aggarwal and Janki Pandya undertook a study of the functioning of the Rainwater Harvesting Cell of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC, also known as MCGB or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai). Their findings, which form the

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subject of this report, are quite disheartening. As the title of this report points out, there truly is a “drought” of rainwater harvesting in Mumbai.

While highlighting the corporation’s failure to enforce rainwater harvesting, this report also celebrates the exemplary self-motivated initiatives of Mumbai’s enlightened citizens. The success story scripted by one of them, Shri Navin Chandra, Secretary of Sealine Cooperative Housing Society, was featured by ‘Satyamev Jayate’, Aamir Khan’s immensely popular TV programme.

The criticality of supply of clean, safe and adequate water to all citizens for India’s all-round socioeconomic development is well known. What is also becoming increasingly clear is that India’s cities and towns, many of which face acute water shortages each year, must do a far better job of managing every available source of water. In particular, maximum rainwater harvesting locally by residential, commercial and governmental buildings must be facilitated so that it becomes a universal practice. In this context, Mumbai’s experience ─ both its failures and its successes ─ as presented in this report, will surely prove helpful to the rest of urban India.

I am happy to note that this report is being released on the eve of March 22, World Water Day. Readers’ critical comments are welcome.

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1. INTRODUCTION Published on the eve of World Water Day on 22 nd March 2013 The benefits of rainwater harvesting are well known and need no elaboration. With rapid urbanisation and industrialisation it has been seen as one of the important ways in which water scarcity can be dealt with. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has been recognised as one of the important lifelines for human wellbeing by UNEP. It is a simple method which provides means to improve access to water and sanitation at the local level, thus helping in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal 7, Target 7C1 - access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

At the very onset, it must be clarified that all the water supplied to Mumbai is through rainwater harvested and impounded in dams in far off catchment areas. The rainwater harvesting stressed upon in this inquiry is the one engaged in locally, within the city limits of Mumbai and by relevant methods of rooftop water harvesting and ground water recharge.

Mumbai understands the importance of rainwater harvesting and there has been a lot of discussion for more than a decade in the city about the same. Though blessed with abundant water, there is a constant worry about assured supply. There has been progressive legislation at the level of the Municipal Corporation and the State Government; awareness programmes and messages in mass media are a regular feature. But there is no annual audit or report on the level of implementation or compliance in the city. None of the key stakeholders can give an answer to the simple question of how much rainwater is harvested within the city of Mumbai. Clearly what is not measured cannot be managed.

Maharashtra is experiencing a major drought situation in 17 districts in 2013. This is bound to have its repercussion on the economy and development of the state. In contrast, Mumbai will be enjoying a relatively abundant supply of water, in spite of the water cuts that are likely emerge as summer approaches. It stands to reason that if a certain percentage of water demand, especially for nonpotable needs could be met through harvested water, then the remaining water could be available for potable needs of those in underserved areas. The water available thus could be utilised at least within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and extended areas that suffer from acute water shortage, if not in the interior districts of Maharashtra.

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The purpose of this inquiry is to understand how widespread or otherwise the practice of rainwater harvesting is and the usage of harvested water during early monsoon and non-monsoon months. An equally important purpose of this inquiry is to understand the functioning of the Rainwater Harvesting Cell of the Municipal Corporation; we have used its functioning as a proxy for the subject matter. No civil society body can match the resources available to the government for the purpose of information compilation and hence it becomes all the more important to audit the functioning of government departments. Even before we engaged in this study we were well aware of some excellent case studies of buildings that utilised harvested water to serve 25-50 percent of their needs. During the course of our study we were even more convinced that a widespread implementation of rainwater harvesting can serve as a valuable insurance against the vagaries of weather.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 

To understand and analyse the implementation of rainwater harvesting schemes in the city.

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To understand the prevalence of RWH in government buildings.

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To understand the hindrances in policy implementation.

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Study and analyse the functioning of the MCGM’s RWH Cell.

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To provide suggestions to popularise the practise of rainwater harvesting in the city, which could also be useful for urban India, in general.

3. WHAT LED TO THIS REPORT? An earlier report published by Observer Research Foundation Mumbai titled “Time is Running Out, Does Mumbai have enough water?” authored by Dhaval Desai, our colleague at ORF, recommended rainwater harvesting as one of the most important measures that needs to be adopted to meet the city’s water demands. Additionally, we have been researching Mumbai on a number of sustainability parameters that include the study of how Mumbai has fared in terms of rainwater harvesting over the past decade as well as the functioning of MCGM’s RWH Cell. The last decade has witnessed a number of bad monsoons leading to water scarcity as well as conversations and interest in rainwater harvesting. We felt it was important to assess the extent to which interests and intentions have translated into reality and identify scopes for improvement.

According to MCGM’s calculation2, Mumbai receives an annual rainfall of 2,000 mm. Given that Mumbai's geographical area is 437 sq km, the annual rainfall generates about 8,78,000 million litres of water, which suffices to supply about 2,400 million litres a day. Theoretically, all this amount of water can be harvested. However, assuming that 70 per cent of the city is developed and only 70 per cent rainfall from this developed area can be conserved, the quantity of rainwater harvested would amount to nearly 1,180 million litres a day. If we decide to resort only to rooftop rainwater harvesting, 2

http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MCGM%20Department%20List/Solid%20Waste%20Management/R ain%20Water%20Harvesting/Water%20Conservation%20and%20Rainwater%20Harvesting%20EN.pdf Why is there a DROUGHT of RAINWATER HARVESTING in Mumbai?

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assuming only half the developed area is roofed, we can easily harvest water around 590 million litres a day. This is still a significant amount of water, given that the BMC supplies 3,000 million litres a day to the city.

The MCGM was the first Municipal Corporation in the state to make RWH compulsory for new buildings under the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD) and as a prerequisite for Completion Certificate to buildings. RWH was made mandatory for buildings of more than 1000 sq m in 2002, and the rule was amended to make RWH mandatory for buildings of more than 300 sq m in 2007. However, most new buildings flout this law and do not have rainwater harvesting systems in place.

DNA Mumbai (24 September, 2012) while reporting on rainwater harvesting in the city3 mentioned that only 1850 building structures out of 4206 constructed after March 2002, that cover an area of more than 1000 sq m have implemented rainwater harvesting systems, which makes it only 44% of the total. The other 2356 buildings have blatantly violated the rules.

The report also evaluated buildings of more than 300 sq m to reveal similar findings – only 1158 buildings out of the 2649 constructed structures have implemented RWH systems. This is around 43%.

However, what needs special mention here is that there is no record whether these buildings continue to have functional rainwater harvesting systems. This violation is more rampant in the city and eastern suburbs while western suburbs have an implementation rate of around 52%.

The last decade also saw enormous new construction in Mumbai across all categories - residential, commercial and leisure - providing the right opportunity to make sure that new buildings followed the right practices from inception.

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4. MEDIA AND SOCIAL AWARENESS ON RAINWATER HARVESTING Print media has played a very positive role in disseminating the idea of adopting rainwater harvesting systems. Newspaper articles have often highlighted the need to have strict rules for implementing the system. The media has been critical of Municipal Corporation’s cloud seeding proposal in 2012, and instead urged the promotion water harvesting and storing technology.

More recently, the issue also gained recognition when the popular television show by Aamir Khan, Satyamev Jayate4, highlighted the need for water management and RWH. The episode created a nationwide discussion around the practice of RWH and its benefits. It emphasised on practising rainwater harvesting especially in cities where there is no mechanism in place to harvest and store rainwater which is otherwise lost.

Introducing the viewers to best practices, the TV show presented a case study of the RWH system installed successfully and beneficially by Sealine CHS, Khar, Mumbai. Mr. Navin Chandra, the secretary of the society was interviewed wherein he urged the people to adopt RWH. The detailed case study is available in Annexure 7.

“People should start seeing money spent in installation of rainwater harvesting as an investment which will yield them good savings from huge water bills in future. It is important to start implementing this system in every building”.

Navin Chandra, Secretary, Sealine Co-op Housing Society, Khar

5. CURRENT GOVERNMENT POLICIES 2002 2002 2005 2007

Maharashtra Government makes RWH mandatory for all buildings on plots more than 1000 sq m MCGM made RWH mandatory for buildings of plot more than 1000 sq m and granted water connections of only 90 lpcd as compared to 135 lpcd supplied earlier.

Directive by state government made RWH mandatory for all developers RWH under MCGM was also made mandatory for buildings coming to MCGM for additions/ alterations/ FSI TDR use.

In 2002, the Maharashtra Government made rainwater harvesting mandatory for all buildings being constructed on plots more than 1000 sq m. A government directive was issued in March 2005 making RWH mandatory for all property developers. By 2007, the same provision became mandatory to buildings with plot area of 300 sq m.

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MCGM adopted the same policy making RWH compulsory for all new buildings in the city. Rainwater harvesting was also made mandatory for properties which had been sanctioned before October 2002 but were due for Completion Certificate post November 2003.

Government of Maharashtra issued directives under Shivkalin Pani Santhavan Yojana (G.R.NO.RPD/1001/CN/330/WS-07 DTD: 14/2/2002) to various Municipal Corporations for taking up rainwater harvesting in their jurisdiction. MCGM held discussions with various professionals and by the order of Municipal Commissioner, set up a study group under the Chairmanship of Additional Municipal Commissioner (P). First meeting of the Study Group was held on November 15, 2002, wherein it was decided to formulate a Rainwater Harvesting Cell to study the various aspects of RWH and to initiate pilot projects in MCGM premises.

Excerpt from brochure by MCGM

Various circulars and notifications issued by the MCGM and the Government of Maharashtra can be found in the Annexure section of this report.

6. HOW GOOD IS THE FUNCTIONING OF MCGM’S RWH CELL? This study has made MCGM’s RWH Cell the focal point of its inquiry. We sought access to comprehensive data from the Cell on the number of buildings in the city having a functioning rain water harvesting system in place - government as well as private. The functioning of the Cell itself became a barometer of the success or failure of implementing RWH in Mumbai.

Our first interaction was with Mrs. Suprabha Marathe, Assistant Engineer in RWH Cell on September 1, 2012, followed by a letter seeking information on a number of details which was delivered personally on October 18, 2012. We have not received any response to the letter, supplying us the information requested.

The lack of response and co-operation from the RWH Cell regarding data prompted us to seek help from the Hydraulic Engineer of MCGM. We sent an email requesting him to furnish the required information. There has been no reply from him and his department till the time of publishing this report.

In the meantime, we visited a number of self-initiated sites harvesting rainwater and documented their success stories, collecting data on the cost of set-up and maintenance as well as benefits that the building enjoys after the installation of the system.

Compiling data and preparing annual reports could be considered as one of the basic responsibilities of the RWH Cell. Considering the seriousness and importance of augmenting water supply with viable alternatives and demand side measures, one would expect the Cell to function as a single stop for all technical and other requirements any building may have, for implementing rainwater harvesting in Why is there a DROUGHT of RAINWATER HARVESTING in Mumbai?

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their premises. But, to our disappointment, the Cell does not even compile basic data on the number of buildings that have functional rainwater harvesting systems in the city.

We inquired with a number of water harvesting experts and practitioners about their experiences with the Cell and many shared our disappointment.

In our early interaction with Mrs. Marathe, we were informed that around 200 government buildings in Mumbai have a functioning rainwater harvesting systems. Further queries have, however, not yielded the names of buildings that could be visited for understanding the set-up.

The Cell gives the impression of not being in a position to even implement rain water harvesting within BMC buildings, far less being able to assist private entities.

6.1. Observations on the functioning of the RWH Cell in MCGM 6.1.1. Physical Infrastructure The first observation that strikes one in a visit to the RWH Cell is the completely uninspiring and pathetic look of the office. The office of the Rainwater Harvesting Cell is a small room not well provided for. The Cell has water leakages as well as no adequate place to structure files and papers which makes it an ugly sight to look at. A lack of appropriate infrastructure affects the working environment and does not motivate an enthusiastic visitor who would want to implement RWH in his or her premises.

6.1.2. Human Resource The RWH cell is visibly short of manpower. Though the total number of people associated with the Cell is not known, one can easily surmise that the staff needs to be improved qualitatively and quantitatively. A young, versatile person, preferably someone who has done exemplary work in water harvesting and has very good communication skills needs to head the Cell. It is extremely disconcerting that the Cell currently does not seem to be in any position to provide technical information and support to potential implementers.

6.1.3. Use of Information Technology Use of Information technology for the purpose of communication or dissemination of information is very minimal by the Cell. MCGM site has one web page allotted to the Rainwater Harvesting Cell, which neither matches up with any standard for information dissemination, nor is it user friendly.

Social media that could be leveraged for outreach and assistance appears to be a far cry.

6.1.4. Communication material In our meeting at the Cell on September 2, 2012, we were provided with the communication material prepared by the Cell on rainwater harvesting. There were 10 booklets in Marathi corresponding to the ten standards of high school and a two-fold brochure in English, outlining the basics of rainwater harvesting. The books in Marathi seemed to be a work of amateurs and not designed by creative Why is there a DROUGHT of RAINWATER HARVESTING in Mumbai?

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communication experts. We are not sure if any assessment about the efficacy of the materials was ever carried out. The graphics are of very poor quality and some of the books are extremely text heavy. Images have been borrowed from drawings made by children in drawing competitions.

The online presence on the website of MCGM is not helpful either. Good communication and awareness material needs to developed by the MCGM if is it is serious about rainwater harvesting in Mumbai. The communication material and campaign clearly cannot be handled by the current staff; competent experts who have experience in environmental communication need to be engaged.

6.2. Excerpts from MCGM’s booklets on awareness about water resource Here are a few excerpts from MCGM’s booklets on awareness about water resources for students from Standard 1 to 10. These have been initiated, produced and designed by the RWH Cell and Water Conservation Department.

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7. A FEW RWH SUCCESS STORIES IN THE CITY We also visited a number of buildings and housing societies that have successfully implemented rainwater harvesting. Annexure 7 contains a few inspiring case studies that highlight how implementation of rainwater harvesting has transformed tanker dependent societies to self sufficient societies, in terms of water for non-potable purposes. The MCGM delivered water is primarily used only for potable purposes, thus reducing its excessive and wasteful use.

On observing and interacting with various people who have implemented rainwater harvesting in their housing societies we learnt that: 

All housing societies were happy about the RWH installation, since it reduced their dependence on MCGM water and helped them in facing water shortages. Water tankers were discontinued in most buildings helping them save huge sums of money that was otherwise spent on tankers every month.

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Everyone we spoke to was annoyed with the unfriendly attitude of the BMC officials, from whom they had to seek permission for installation of the RWH system, which they felt made the entire process tiresome.

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Another complaint was about the corruption of the officials who had to give permission for rainwater harvesting installation.

“There is absolute hypocrisy and double standards of the BMC. On one hand we hear ministers and officials talking and engaging in rhetoric about alternative methods of water supply, even saying that incentives will be given to housing societies that undertake such projects and on the other hand we see just the opposite when we need the required permissions for a rainwater harvesting or any such project. We actually have to pay under the table charges to get permissions.

Yes, we have heard that corruption has reached frenzy in India, but in trying to make money out of projects that are at the root of survival in this country is like spitting on the hand that feeds you.

When the government or those at the helm can stop this sad state of affairs, then and only then will projects take off and water saving alternative methods sees the light of day. Till then everything will just be empty words and nothing more”.

Robert Clements, Newspaper Columnist

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8. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS FOR EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF RAIN WATER HARVESTING (RWH) CELL 1. Increase budget allocation The budget allocation for the Cell should be increased. In the current scenario, every year, less than one crore rupees is allocated to the Rainwater Harvesting Cell. In the financial year of 2010-2011, only around Rs. 70,000 – 80,000, not even half a percent of the annual outlay for water and sewage was set aside for this cell. 5 The 2013-14 budget for water and sewage works is Rs. 5961.31 crore.

2. Improved infrastructure The cell should be provided better infrastructure if it is to work efficiently and should have better work environment for the employees to perform well, which is not the case now.

3. Empowerment and Accountability The Cell needs to be empowered to strictly enforce and implement rainwater harvesting, along with the ability to penalise non-compliance. Simultaneously, the Cell should be made more accountable, and result-oriented. It must maintain and publish all RWH data, and bring out a detailed annual report.

4. Transition from awareness to enforcement The Cell should move beyond just running awareness campaigns and position itself as an enforcing agency that also provides machinery and support for rainwater harvesting. It should have a dedicated team for field visits and data collection to examine the authenticity and functioning of rainwater installations, as well as to assist in new implementations and to support existing installations that may have issues or could be enhanced.

Corrupt practices by civic staff in granting permission for RWH, inspecting installations etc. must be dealt with punitively.

5. Effective communication strategy The Cell should invest in creating better quality communication material and campaigns, which are user friendly and educational. A correct and timely intervention in outreach can go a long way in building awareness, educating the citizens and thus increasing the adoption of rainwater harvesting in coming years.

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9. RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCREASE ADOPTION OF RAINWATER HARVESTING 

Immediate time-bound implementation of rainwater harvesting systems should be mandated in all government and municipal buildings of Mumbai. The public authorities should set a fitting example for the citizens to follow. All such buildings should prominently display that they use rainwater harvesting, and also provide the relevant statistics (for example data on amount of water harvested, water consumption reduced/ saved).

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All the 227 municipal corporators should champion action-oriented, exemplary initiatives towards adopting RWH in their wards. If every corporator facilitated at least five systems per year during their term then Mumbai would have 5675 active systems within the next five years.

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A data collection, organisation and management system should be set up to map buildings with planned and active RWH systems on an ongoing basis. This will help track and plan rainwater harvesting implementations in a better way, while offering valuable insights that will assist in understanding best practices and filling implementation gaps.

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Special rainwater harvesting zones in open spaces and low lying areas should be categorised and demarcated, so that a plan for rainwater harvesting in those areas can be chalked, for implementation.

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MCGM should be open to research and experimentation, and accommodate new innovative methods for RWH, not just insisting on conventional, rigid and stereotypical methods. Existing rules for water harvesting should be examined and modified for areas where it is not naturally favourable.

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The scope of rainwater harvesting should not be limited to large-sized buildings. The Municipal Corporation policy of rainwater harvesting should include every potential catchment area in the city from public parks and open spaces to places like under the flyovers, where water logging is seen. Guidelines and policies should be drafted, with the larger scope and long term vision in mind.

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The Municipal Corporation should consider construction techniques that allow for percolation of rainwater in our roads and footpaths thus helping recharge of groundwater. Concrete cement and paver blocks that are currently used does not allow water to seep in, leading to manifold problems – flooding, water logging in the city streets during a heavy shower and groundwater recharge deprivation.

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The Municipal Corporation should not make it mandatory to seek permission to implement RWH in any premise. The current process that is onerous and time consuming should be made easy, effortless and user friendly. A simpler process like online registration could be provisioned to register the implementation of rainwater harvesting in a building/ complex. Best practices for implementation, with pointers to agencies for implementation could be made available to the citizens to ensure quality and standards.

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MCGM should also provide attractive incentives such as rebate in property tax for buildings which have a functioning rainwater harvesting system in place. This will encourage more people to implement the system.

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The Rainwater Harvesting Cell should hold functions like award ceremonies, workshops, film screenings etc. to acknowledge excellence, incentivise innovation and implementation, increase outreach and keep the subject relevant.

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We are aware that a ground water survey has been commissioned by MCGM and we hope that it will give an accurate idea of the net extractable ground water available. Being a coastal city saline ingress is an issue and RWH can considerably help in recharging groundwater supplies.

10. CHENNAI SERVES AS A PRECEDENT Chennai city faced severe water scarcity during the year 2001 and that acted as a major stimulus for rainwater harvesting. A special campaign was launched in July 2001 as a people’s movement to popularise rainwater harvesting by the institutions as well as individual households. The programme was successful partly because of the political commitment shown by Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Dr. J. Jayalalithaa.

The decentralised availability of drinking water saw a paradigm shift from a system wholly controlled by engineers and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board to a level of comanagement.

Technical assistance cells were established in various government organisations. A campaign was launched through mass media, seminars, exhibitions, rallies, mobile publicity vans, etc. Vans demonstrating various methods of rainwater harvesting, were parked in different parts of the city.

Today, Chennai is a benchmark for successful rainwater harvesting in an Indian city. All the buildings, commercial as well as residential, are provided with rainwater harvesting structures. This has helped in improving the ground water table as well as in improving the quality of ground water. Moreover, during rainy season the dependence on the municipal water supply has come down.6 Chennai serves as a model for other similarly water supply challenged cities. A city that was once known for its acute scarcity of drinking water and exploitation of ground water started moving

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towards water security achieved by the diligent, Government-supported application of affordable and environmentally sustainable solutions created in situ, with social benefits.7 Excerpts from a report in The Hindu on a study by Chennai Metro Water in 2009 o

The Chennai Metro Water study of 759 RWH observatory wells shows that ever since the installation of RWH structures in about 5 lakh consumer households was made mandatory five years ago, there has been a 50 per cent rise in the water level.

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Following the drought period in 2003 when Chennai received only about 690 mm of rainfall as against its normal of 1,200 mm, the water table had receded and, on an average, was at 7-8 metres below ground.

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The condition of RWH structures in many government buildings is in bad shape and in dire need of maintenance.

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PWD spends considerable amount on construction of RWH systems and a portion of the government grant is spent on RWH maintenance.

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For instance, if Rs.1 crore is sanctioned towards a building, about Rs.50,000-Rs.1 lakh is spent on RWH structures.

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Unless rainwater runoff in both public and private space in the city is harnessed, Chennai may lose out on the precious resource and may end up with water problem during summer months, note rainwater experts.

Rainwater harvesting yields rich dividends http://www.hindu.com/pp/2009/01/31/stories/2009013150010100.htm

11. OTHER CITIES IN INDIA Most other big cities in the country have legislation on rainwater harvesting in place. However, implementation has been a major problem like in Mumbai. Though there have been enough legislation in place, the Municipal Corporations has not been able to direct its implementation to the fullest.

There are several success stories in each city which offer great learning. Some of the initiatives of these different cities also offer various means to make it a popular practise. Some of them have been given below: 

Bengaluru and Hyderabad have a penalty system in place, which has to a certain extent led to the implementation of the system in plot areas which the legislations makes it compulsory.

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Bengaluru Municipal Corporation has recently warned the citizens of discontinuance of supplied water if RWH system is not implemented in the building.

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Property tax rebate in Bhopal and Indore in Madhya Pradesh and in New Delhi has also acted as an incentive for undertaking the system in buildings.

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http://www.satyamevjayate.in/issue12/learnmore/detail/65/ Why is there a DROUGHT of RAINWATER HARVESTING in Mumbai?

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In terms of other assistance State Bank of Hyderabad provides personal loans up to Rs. 25,000 under the Varun Mitra Scheme for implementing rainwater harvesting. This is mainly to popularise the practise and assisting implementation in case of financial limitations.

Legal, administrative and fiscal measures taken in selected cities of India for promoting RWH

Source: Rainwater Harvesting and Utilisation, Blue Drop Series, UN-Habitat

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12. CONCLUSION What has been learnt in the process of this inquiry is that there is a will among people to participate and undertake rainwater harvesting; there are wonderful examples of implementation by selfmotivated individuals or by community effort. However, all this is to the credit of the citizens. The municipal corporation as the governing institution in its capacity to be the ultimate policy maker and change driver needs to take the lead in saving and managing rainwater but it is missing in action.

Serious attention has to be paid to implementing existing policies. Communication and awareness creation needs to be sophisticated and in tune with the requirements of the people. The administration needs to support a marketplace of solution providers and innovators and help them to thrive.

A visionary political and administrative leadership is the need of the hour and a few long term champions can make an enormous difference to the adoption of rainwater harvesting in Mumbai.

Just because Mumbai is blessed with abundant water supply should not take it away from showing compassion and responsibility to less fortunate with the metropolitan region and nearby regions of the State. The drinking water that is copiously flushed down the toilets for sanitation needs in Mumbai could easily be made available to others in the region who are deprived of it currently. One should aim to completely substitute the non-potable water needs at least, with locally harvested water.

The coming decades will see rapid urbanisation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. This will put additional demand for supply of water to other corporations and councils in the region from the same lakes which currently supply to Mumbai. While considerable capacity is being added, demand is also rising from newer urban centers in the region. Rainwater harvesting and overall demand management measures may seem unnecessary from today’s perspective but could become a necessity in coming years and the time to get prepared is now.

We hope this report will guide thinking in this regard and catalyse rapid implementation of rainwater harvesting in Mumbai in the coming years.

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ANNEXURE 1 - MCGM CIRCULAR, 2002

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ANNEXURE 2 - MCGM CIRCULAR FOR IOD CONDITION FOR RWH, 2003

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ANNEXURE 3 - MCGM CIRCULAR, 2003

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ANNEXURE 4 - WATER CONSERVATION AND RAIN WATER HARVESTING FOR BRIHANMUMBAI, 2003

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ANNEXURE 5 - MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT URBAN DEVELOPMENT NOTIFICATION ON RWH, 2007

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ANNEXURE 6 - RAINWATER HARVESTING BROCHURE, MCGM

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ANNEXURE 7 - CASE STUDIES OF RAINWATER HARVESTING IN MUMBAI Sealine CHS, Khar (W) Water situation before RWH

Other Information Type of RWH system installed Areas included for RWH Water situation after implementation of RWH

Direct Monetary Benefits

No major water problem, but during the rains, water from the adjacent road entered the building premises flooding the ground floor and damaging the cars parked there.

--Ringwell, 6ft deep 70ft long bare-bottom trench with a bed of sand and pebbles for charging of groundwater Covers approx 700 Esq. of ground area and 220 Esq. of terrace area and runoff from the adjacent road.

Estimated total charge into groundwater - 11,00,000 litres per year (lpy) Pumped out for non-drinking purposes - 1,00,000 lpy (9% only) ---

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Sea Crown CHS, Charkop, Kandivali (W) Water situation before RWH Other Information Type of RWH system installed Areas included for RWH Water situation after implementation of RWH Direct Monetary Benefits

The supply of water does not meet the demand. Thus the expense on BMC water tankers was Rs. 1 to 1.5 lakhs per month Site is on marshy land Ring well cum rainwater harvesting system Roof tops and paved surface areas 24 hours water supply for non-potable purposes. Thus the BMC water is used for potable purposes only. The society no more calls for tankers to fulfil their water requirements.

A saving of Rs.1 to 1.5 lakhs per month that was earlier spent on tankers

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Sea Hill CHS, Union Park Road, Khar (W)

Water situation before RWH

Other Information Type of RWH system installed Areas included for RWH Water situation after implementation of RWH Direct Monetary Benefits

There was a shortage of water, mainly for non potablepurposes.

They were using BMC water for flushing and other requirements.

Sometimes they had to call for tankers to fulfil their water needs for non-potable uses.

Building is located at a height; therefore, rainwater harvesting and the implementation technique to be adopted was a challenging job.

Ring well cum rainwater harvesting system.

Roof tops and paved surface areas 24 hours water supply for non-potable purposes from saved rainwater.

40% saving in BMC water bill

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Model Town, Mahakali Caves, Andheri (E) Water situation before RWH

Other Information

Type of RWH system installed Areas included for RWH Water situation after implementation of RWH Direct Monetary Benefits

Experienced severe water shortage since the demand did not meet the supply from BMC. They were managing their water requirements with difficulty, having to shift from one underground tank to another for water supply.

Site was very rocky Drilling of Bore well was not allowed due to BMC tunnel bed.

They have a big ground that could be used as catchment area Ring well cum rainwater harvesting system Terraces, paved surface areas and society’s open ground Recharging the water table, 24 hours water supply in the eight society buildings for non-potable requirements.

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Vasant Valley Complex, Dindoshi, Goregaon (E) Water situation before RWH Other Information Type of RWH system installed Areas included for RWH Water situation after implementation of RWH Direct Monetary Benefits

BMC water was used for flushing and other non potable purposes.

In order to meet the water requirement for five buildings, tankers had to be called for.

---1 Ring well cum rainwater harvesting system Roof tops and paved surface areas 24 hours water supply for all the five Buildings through rainwater stored instead of using BMC water for flushing and other non-potable uses.

40% saving in BMC water bill.

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Patliputra CHS, Four Bunglows, Andheri (W) Water situation before RWH Other Information Type of RWH system installed Areas included for RWH Water situation after implementation of RWH Direct Monetary Benefits

Huge shortage of water for flushing and other domestic needs.

The monthly expense on water tankers ranged from Rs. 50,000 to 60,000 Building is on marshy land Ring well cum rainwater harvesting system Roof tops and paved surface areas At present, they get 24 hours water supply of harvested water for non-potable requirements.

Tankers are no longer called for.

A saving of Rs.50,000 to 60,000 that was earlier spent on tankers.

 All Systems implemented by Osmosis Pvt. Ltd., Kandivali, www.osmosisindia.com  Data for the same - partially provided by Osmosis and by visiting the site and engaging with people.

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HARVEST TO HARNESS (H2H), 2004

Harvest to Harness H2H, an award for rainwater harvesting systems was instituted in 2004 by Rachna Sansad’s Institute of Environmental Architecture, Lotus Suites, and Eureka Forbes Institute of Environment with the objective of creating awareness about conserving rain water and appreciating buildings which had laudable RWH systems.

The H2H initiative did considerable work during 2004-07 in creating awareness and imparting technical knowledge about setting up RWH systems and as a result a number of buildings adopted the practice.

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ORF MUMBAI’S PUBLICATION ON WATER ORF study urges 10 urgent reform measures to: 1. eliminate wastage, leakage, stealing and ‘unaccounted water’; 2. end corruption-ridden ‘tanker system’; 3. ensure equitable water supply to every household, with priority for the poor, and; 4. move quickly towards sustainable management of this most precious natural resource Delayed onset of monsoon has created a crisis situation in Mumbai repeatedly and fairly regularly since 2009, driving the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to impose water cuts in varying degrees to tide over the situation. Besides frequent across-the-board water cuts, the MCGM has also embarked on massive projects aimed at source augmentation. However, the recurring water crisis, now almost an annual affair in Mumbai, has exposed a deeper systemic malaise, which needs to be cured.

ORF’s recent report ‘Time is Running Out – Does Mumbai Have Enough Water?’, authored by Dhaval D. Desai, Research Fellow, asks several tough questions about the manner in which MCGM has been traditionally managing its water. It has analysed the current complexities and future challenges with respect to water supply in the city. It has studied the supply and demand aspects, focussed on the critical technical, financial and societal challenges, and used a number of local, Indian and international case studies to recommend a series of short-, medium- and long-term measures to make Mumbai a water sustainable city.

It is a shame that many people, especially in slums, in India’s commercial capital have to depend on tanker water, while MCGM’s distribution network leaks and wastes water to the tune of 900 million litres per day, which is more than the total daily supply to the entire city of Pune. Through this report, ORF has attempted to throw light on the critical aspects ailing the water supply scenario in the city and made recommendations that should help MCGM move away from being a wasteful utility to a water sustainable utility. We believe that an understanding of reality should catalyse long standing changes that will help the city achieve this difficult, but inevitable goal.

To ensure sustainable water management, MCGM has recently initiated a range of measures including tunnelling of the water supply mains and installation of Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meters.

Simultaneously, it has also recently implemented an across-the-board water tariff hike for all consumer categories. Certain long-term measures like sewage treatment and recycling are also being claimed to be on anvil, but there is still little or no progress in that regard. These are steps in the right direction, but are heavily and wrongly skewed only towards supply management. The MCGM will have Why is there a DROUGHT of RAINWATER HARVESTING in Mumbai?

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to focus equally on demand management of this vital natural resource. This is not possible without engaging all the stakeholders, and through sustained and sharp awareness campaigns aimed at bringing attitudinal changes in the people towards water use, the report states.

The ORF study acknowledges that, on several parameters of water supply, Mumbai remains one of the better managed cities in India. This has largely been because of the fact that Mumbai enjoys the immense natural endowment of having perennial and dedicated water resources. However, with unacceptably high level of Unaccounted for Water (NRW) on account of leaks and theft, and with an apathetic approach towards conservation of this precious natural resource, even by simple means like rainwater harvesting, the lack of political will that has allowed city to be one large slum, and several other such factors, the overall water management in the city is fast showing signs of long term unsustainability. Simply going further and further away in search of new sources to augment water supply is not going to be enough. It would be unwise to add any more water to poorly managed system that leaks millions of litres of water in just a matter of four-hours unless all methods of water conservation are first implemented systematically.

Ten key recommendations made by ORF Mumbai Consumption Mapping: Currently, the MCGM is only able to assume the consumption levels in different parts of the city owing to several shortcomings of the network like the absence of an accurate pipeline map, lack of proper and accurate meeting etc. ORF recommends that the MCGM must prepare a comprehensive and accurate consumption map of the city by doing a very exhaustive, expansive and meticulous door-to-door survey. This exercise must be carried out in a transparent manner with the sincerity and diligence of the Census of India and be repeated every 10 years with the regularity of the Census. While such a survey – though a very daunting task – will give precise conclusions, the MCGM may also look at international best practices and technologies which are available currently to accomplish this urgent task.

Network Mapping: The MCGM has no idea about where many of its underground pipes actually are.

Even the existing knowledge about the network has been captured largely on the age old method of preparing engineering drawings. An exercise to prepare an accurate map of these underground pipes using the latest GIS-based technologies must be undertaken on priority. Sadly, there is very little movement towards this in the current scenario.

Flow meters: The MCGM has no precise idea of how much water is going where once it’s released in the distribution network. The MCGM must first install reliable bulk flow meters at all major water inlets and outlets to measure the exact inflow.

Minimising leaks and bursts: The MCGM must prepare a comprehensive and watertight 5-year-plan focussing purely on controlling leaks and bursts. Instead of going in for hugely capital intensive source augmentation schemes, the MCGM must focus sincerely on controlling the gross wastage of the precious natural resource. This exercise must be undertaken in an absolute mission mode and become the single most priority area for the MCGM over the next five years.

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Organisational reforms: The MCGM must immediately initiate organisational reforms to empower and make accountable its Hydraulic Engineering department. It must also invest in training and retention of its talent.

Recycling: Mumbai gets 3430 MLD of water daily. It also releases nearly an equal quantity of water in its sewage system. Recycling even a fraction of this enormous of water to cater to some of the principal water guzzling industries like construction, and for possible secondary or non-potable uses like gardening and toilet-flushing etc. will go a long way in controlling the abuse of drinking water.

Pricing of water: Even after the water tariff hike implemented for all consumer categories by the MCGM in July 2012, the poorest of the poor in Maharashtra pay more than the residents of Mumbai for water. Besides ensuring good health of the MCGM’s finances, upward revision of prices is urgently needed to ensure sensible use and minimum wastage. ORF strongly recommends that the MCGM must approve the proposal of annual eight per cent incremental water tariff hikes. Even with these annual incremental hikes, the price of water in Mumbai will match the current tariff imposed by the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran in municipal councils across MMR, only the year 2020-2021.

Rainwater harvesting: If the MCGM is serious about pursuing rainwater harvesting, it must strengthen the capacity of its Rainwater Harvesting Cell and support buildings which are willing to implementing this measure. It must also develop a mechanism to conduct regular checks of rainwater harvesting facilities, as water stored in anaerobic conditions throughout the year could be prone to bacterial contamination. Further, it must show gumption and act against builders who initiate construction schemes without incorporating comprehensive rainwater harvesting mechanisms in their plans.

Public awareness and engagement: Nowhere in the world have water reforms been possible without a strong focus on public awareness and public engagement. The MCGM must forge a strong people-topeople partnership through sustained and targeted awareness and education campaigns to achieve the desired long-term results. Schools governed by various Education Boards must be encouraged to introduce water use and conservation lessons to the children beginning with the primary section.

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The fulfilment of basic human needs, our environment, socio-economic development and poverty reduction are all heavily dependent on water.

Good management of water is especially challenging due to some of its unique characteristics: it is unevenly distributed in time and space, the hydrological cycle is highly complex and perturbations have multiple effects. Rapid urbanization, pollution and climate change threaten the resource while demands for water are increasing in order to satisfy the needs of a growing world population, now at over seven billion people, for food production, energy, industrial and domestic uses. Water is a shared resource and its management needs to take into account a wide variety of conflicting interests. This provides opportunities for cooperation among users.

In designating 2013 as the UN International Year of Water Cooperation, the UN General Assembly recognises that cooperation is essential to strike a balance between the different needs and priorities and share this precious resource equitably, using water as an instrument of peace. Promoting water cooperation implies an interdisciplinary approach bringing in cultural, educational and scientific factors, as well as religious, ethical, social, political, legal, institutional and economic dimensions.

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ABOUT OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION MUMBAI

Observer Research Foundation (ORF) is a leading non-partisan Indian Think-Tank that seeks to influence public policy formulation. It was established in New Delhi in 1990 by R.K. Mishra, a widely respected public figure, who envisaged it as a broad-based intellectual platform pulsating with ideas needed for India’s nation-building. In its journey of twenty years, ORF has brought together leading Indian policy makers, academics, public figures, social activists and business leaders to discuss various issues of national importance. ORF scholars have made significant contributions toward improving government policies. ORF has produced a large body of critically acclaimed publications. Until recently, ORF’s activities were based mainly in New Delhi. Beginning 2010, ORF Mumbai has been established to pursue the Foundation’s vision in India’s business and financial capital. It has started research and advocacy in six broad areas: Education, Public Health, Inclusive Development, Urban Renewal, Youth Development, and Promotion of India’s Priceless Artistic and Cultural Heritage. Some of the recent reports published by ORF Mumbai include:  “Time is Running Out: Does Mumbai have Enough Water?”  “Domestic Violence as a Women’s Health Issue: Role of Primary Prevention”  “Masked Identities: Safeguarding India’s Intangible Cultural Heritage”  “Reforms in Medical Education- to Promote Accessible and Affordable Healthcare for All”  “Making the Sewer a River Again... Why Mumbai Must Reclaim its Mithi”  “Moving People: Why Mumbai Needs a Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS)” ORF Mumbai’s mission statement is: Ideas and Action for a Better India. It will champion the cause of balanced socio-economic development and a better quality of life for all Indians. It will also work towards strengthening India’s democratic institutions to become more responsible, responsive and sensitive to common people’s needs and concerns, especially those of most vulnerable sections of society. Besides conducting diligent research in its above six core areas, ORF Mumbai also pursues wide-ranging initiatives like the Maharashtra @ 50 Study Centre, the Forum for India-China Citizens’ Dialogue, the Centre for the Study of India’s Ancient Knowledge Traditions, and the Gurus of Science Series.

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Observer Research Foundation Mumbai Ideas and Action for a Better India

NKM International House, 5th Floor, 178, Babubhai Chinai Marg, Behind LIC Headquarters, Mumbai 400 020, India.

Tel: + 91 22 61313800 | Website: www.orfonline.org Contact: Rishi Aggarwal at rishiaggarwal@orfonline.org Janki Pandya at janki@orfonline.org Why is there a DROUGHT of RAINWATER HARVESTING in Mumbai?

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