Delhi : Delhi Water Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday announced financial assistance of up to Rs 50,000 to the residents who install rooftop rainwater harvesting systems (RWH) in their homes. Additionally, such people will also be eligible to get a 10 percent rebate on their water bills, Jain said. Moreover, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), of which Jain is the Chairperson, will soon adopt the Inline Rainwater Harvesting system, a cost-effective model, which is currently being implemented in the Dungarpur district of Rajasthan.
Jain said that this RWH model does not require a heavy installation set-up and is much cheaper than conventional systems. While the traditional RWH system set-up costs Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh, this cost-effective model can be installed for as low as Rs 16,000.
Meanwhile, financial assistance for installing rooftop RWH systems will be given according to the size of the house. DJB said plots measuring 100 to 199.99 square metres will receive a 50 percent concession on the overall cost of the rooftop RWH system or Rs 10,000, whichever is lesser. Similarly, People whose homes are spread between 200 sq m and 299.99 sq m can claim Rs 20,000 or 50 percent cost of the RWH structure.
It’s not just the cost, the system also works very efficiently, Jain claimed. ‘This model uses innovative techniques and is centred on routing the rainwater directly to a bore well, instead of a regular rainwater-harvesting pit,’ he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. ‘The rainwater gets filtered within the pipe, removing any need for an additional filter system and harvesting pit.’
Jain further said the model comprises a horizontally installed pipe filter in the rainwater pipe which further connects to non-functional and defunct borewells. The Water Minister added that the Inline RWH system has a geotextile membrane as cover, at the mouth of the rainwater pipe to filter impure particles.
