The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to slap hefty fines on the residential and commercial buildings across the city if their rainwater harvesting systems are found to be non-functional.
As per the norms, rainwater harvesting systems are mandatory for residential and commercial buildings constructed on and above 500 sqm plots.
NMC commissioner Chandrakant Pulkundwar told that the town planning department will check whether the rainwater harvesting systems at these buildings are functional after the issuance of the Building Completion Certificates (BCCs).
“We will also bring a proper mechanism to check if the buildings have a rainwater harvesting system, before giving BCCs and if they are functional a few years after the issuance of the same.
Nashik divisional commissioner Radhakrishna Game, who is the chairperson of the Bombay high court-appointed high-powered committee, during a recent meeting of the committee, directed the NMC administration to ensure that the buildings are complying with the rainwater harvesting system.
Moreover, he also told the civic administration to ensure that the rainwater harvesting systems of the buildings, which got BCCs two-three years back, are functional. Game further asked the officials concerned to take action against the owners of the buildings where the system is not functional. Before the Covid pandemic, the civic body had conducted a drive and slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 each on 60 residential buildings for non-compliance with the rainwater harvesting system rule.
But the civic body could not conduct such a drive for the past two years due to the Covid pandemic.