Soon, drive against rain harvesting violations in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: The newly-appointed nodal officer to oversee rainwater harvesting (RWH) in Gurugram will begin a drive for the enforcement of RWH norms from July 8.

The drive will check the functionality of RWH sites and will be conducted in three phases — the first phase will cover sectors 58 to 69, the second will include areas under the Municipal Corporation of Manesar and the third will cover sectors along the Dwarka Expressway.

Earlier this week, Gurugram deputy commissioner Yash Garg appointed district town planner (enforcement) RS Batth as the nodal office to oversee rainwater harvesting in the city.

The enforcement teams to conduct the drive will be led by Batth and will include officials from the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran, the municipal corporations of Gurugram and Manesar, the department of town and country planning and police.

In a meeting held on Friday, Batth told officials that the teams will check the availability and functionality of RWH plants in large group housing societies, plotted colonies and commercial and institutional establishments during the drive.

“Strict penalties will be imposed on violators under the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. The drive will be conducted in three phases across the Gurugram-Manesar Urban Complex,” Batth said.

In the first phase, which will be conducted between July 8 to 18, establishments in sectors 56 to 69 will be checked. These sectors mostly have group housing societies and plotted colonies.

In the second phase, establishments falling under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Manesar will be covered from July 19 to 26. The third phase will focus on residential societies along the Dwarka Expressway from July 27 till August 1.

According to Haryana Building Code, 2017, the owner of every building has to ensure that rainwater harvesting structures are maintained and repaired for storage of water for non-potable purposes and recharge of groundwater at all times.

Batth said ‘appreciation certificates’ will be issued to the group housing societies, plotted colonies, commercial establishments and industrial setups in each phase that have fully-functional rainwater harvesting structures, a defined capacity of storage and clean the structures before monsoon every year.