New Delhi, June 20, 2003: The first monsoon showers to lash Delhi this year seem to have proved beyond doubt that the various "innovative measures to harvest rainwater" that the Delhi state government has so vigorously been promoting during the past year are merely cosmetic and hence futile. The parched city received more than 80 mm of rain in one day—a significant amount in a city that records about 610mm annually. And all this precious water flowed into stormwater drains - choked with sewage and other waste materials - and then flooded the vehicle-laden roads of Delhi. Result: traffic snarls and complete chaos, while fresh and clean rainwater literally went down the drain.

"For almost a year now state government agencies have been chanting the mantra of rainwater harvesting. A plethora of by-laws and notifications have been created. Financial incentives have been announced and promises of technical assistance have been made. But while evolving these grand schemes, the government has forgotten to take care of the basic, rudimentary infrastructure that is required to ensure that the monsoon showers do not go waste," says Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment.

The government has forgotten to clean the stormwater drains, and to prevent rainwater from mixing with human excreta and other waste materials. It has also forgotten about the city’s dead and decaying baolis and ponds that could have been used most effectively as natural recharge structures and flood cushions. In other words, the government has - typically - forgotten about the basics!

First, the drains. As per official figures, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is in charge of maintaining 1,166 drains, the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Flood Control Department are responsible for 255 more. Earlier, senior officials of these departments told the media that the government is ‘on alert’ and review meetings were being held to come up with steps to prevent water-logging. But Ram Babu Sharma, Chairman of MCD’s Standing Committee admitted that "much will depend on the volume of rain received in the city" and that his agency had already identified 155 "trouble spots". His words turned out to be prophetic as the entire city was converted into a "trouble spot" with the first bout of rain.

"Why cannot the government agencies do their job - of desilting and cleaning the stormwater drains - on a regular basis, instead of leaving it till the last minute and then making a mess of it," says Dr Krishan Sehgal, President, Panchshila Cooperative Housing Society. He is particularly angry because his colony has installed rainwater harvesting structures at a community level. "The MCD never cleans the drains and in monsoon there is severe flooding. This affects the efficient functioning of our rainwater harvesting systems," he said.

Then the sick water bodies of Delhi, which once served as sources of drinking water and prevented flooding during monsoons. A survey conducted under the directives of the Delhi High Court in August 2001 revealed that 508 water bodies exist in the National Capital Territory; but in various stages of decay. Unplanned urbanisation; an expanding network of builders; and a lack of proper civic amenities have either led to encroachment or have converted these water bodies into garbage dumps.

Responding to a number of public interest litigation filed by concerned citizens, the judiciary has been urging the state government to take immediate steps to restore these water bodies. "Costs should not be a consideration while protecting resources like lakes," said a High Court directive issued in April 2002. How has the government responded? It cleaned up a couple of these water bodies, particulary those under public scrutiny, such as Agrasen ki baoli in Connaught Place, which was desilted and then filled up with water brought in tankers! "A typical knee-jerk response," dismisses Narain, "No attempt was made to clean up the channels through which rainwater flowed into the baoli. This one-time measure will not ensure that the baoli receives a regular supply of water, and hence is a mere eye wash."

Now let us take a look at the current status of some of the notifications that have been put in place by the Central Ground Water Authority and the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation (Delhi Division), presumably to ensure that all citizens harvest rainwater, both at individual and community levels. Public Notice No 20/2001 issued by the CGWA in 2001 says that all Residential Societies, Institutions, Schools, Hotels, Industrial Establishments, Farm Houses, and public (government) buildings must adopt roof top rainwater harvesting system for groundwater recharge. The deadline was set on December 31, 2001. It was later shifted to March 2002, then to December 2002, and then again to March 2003. The latest move has been to push it to November 2003! This clearly indicates the lack of seriousness on the part of the government.

"Can it afford to be so even now?" asks Narain, "Delhi gets about 611 mm of rain per year, and it has total land area of 1,486 sq km. Even if we assume 50 per cent efficiency of the rainwater harvesting systems, Delhi still has water harvesting potential of 450 billion litres annually. This equals to about 35 per cent of the total water demand of the city! But this can only happen if the government takes its responsibilities seriously. Till then we are just doomed to be parched."