Only 220 buildings with a plot area above 300 sq metres in the city have rainwater harvesting systems, according to official records of the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA).
Parks in the city also lack any infrastructure for rainwater harvesting, civic body officials say.
JDA officials said that in 2011 the JDA revised rules to make it mandatory to build water harvesting structures for plots of 300 sq metres and above. The JDA enforcement wing also announced a penalty of Rs 25,000 the same year if buildings did not have such structures. “Despite rules and regulations, most buildings in Jaipur with plots of 300 sqm and above do not have a rainwater harvesting system in place. According to records, only 220 such buildings in Jaipur have rainwater harvesting systems built,” said an official of JDA.
“Most parks in Jaipur do not have rainwater harvesting systems in place. The few parks which do had the systems installed by the PHED some 10 to 15 years ago,” said an official of JMC-Greater.
Jaipur is among nine districts in the state which used more underground water than was recharged through rains last year, according to a report by the jal shakti ministry. The capital district utilised 223% more water than it received through rains, creating an imbalance in the groundwater resources and leading to an expansion of dry zones, the report said.
Jaipur district’s 99% of irrigated land of 2.80 lakh hectares uses groundwater for irrigation, another report pointed out. Govindgarh Block utilises the maximum groundwater for irrigation. while Sanganer and Jhotwara blocks use the maximum for industries. The result is that 40% of the groundwater table in Jaipur has gone below 40 metres and continues to go down with every passing year.
