Jamshedpur, May 5: Acting on the steps of the Jharkhand government, the East Singhbhum district administration has made it mandatory to include water harvesting in the Building By-Laws 2016.
A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the district authorities led by Deputy Commissioner Dr Amitabh Kaushal with the builders and members of various apartment societies on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, Kaushal said that once the law has been implemented, he would not request the builders and real estate sector to execute it. �We will initiate strict actions against the defaulters,� he warned.
The DC also set a time-frame for implementing the rule at the meeting held at XLRI�s TMDC auditorium. �If the builders fail to fulfill the requirements of the law, they will face harsh actions,� Kaushal said. He added that the entire country is facing a severe crisis as the ground water level is declining everywhere. The need of the hour was to check the deterioration and ensure that the water level rises.
�If a builder is drawing water from the soil, he also has to ensure that he is returning adequate water to the earth. It is everyone�s duty to ensure that the ground water level rises saving us from a possible disaster,� the Deputy Commissioner said.
According to Kaushal, all builders and societies will have to start making water harvesting a must within the next 20 days. �Concerned authorities will survey their respective areas between May 25 and 30 and submit a report to the district administration on May 31. Following this, actions will be initiated against all defaulting builders and societies.�
The district administration will cancel the sanctioned plan and permit of all defaulting builders and societies, the Deputy Commissioner warned.
The meeting was attended by DRDA director Uma Mahto, Dhalbhum SDO Suraj Kumar, representatives of the Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee, Mango Notified Area Committee, Jugsalai Municipality and several builders.
Sanjay Kumar made a presentation on the benefits of water harvesting on the occasion.
