more-in KOCHI: Public institutions, including government hospitals and schools, will get rainwater harvesting system free of cost as the scheme to install the facility at homes failed to evoke public interest. Despite extending the deadline for submitting applications, the civic body received only 60 applications from residents. The objective of the scheme was to set up rainwater harvesting system at houses after collecting a marginal amount as beneficiary contribution. The Kochi Corporation will implement the scheme at the houses of individual applicants from April 1. The facility will also be put up at public institutions within the city limits, officials said. The corporation is also planning to offer the facility to residents of Thanthonithuruthu, an island in the Kochi backwaters. “As most of its residents belong to economically weaker sections who cannot afford to pay the beneficiary share, the civic body will meet the expense,” said Shiny Mathew, chairperson of the town planning standing committee of the corporation. Funds for the project will be sourced from the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and other heads. “The scheme is being considered for the island owing to the acute water shortage experienced by it,” she said. Though several parts of the city have been experiencing acute drinking water shortage, rainwater harvesting is yet to pick up. “The track record of the city in terms of compliance with water harvesting system is also poor,” said Ms. Mathew. Meanwhile, experts said though rainwater harvesting was mandatory under the Kerala Municipal Building Rules, no audit had been conducted so far to assess its effectiveness. Rainwater harvesting has to be seen in its totality, according to P. Ramachandran, former chairman, Indian Plumbing Association. “One should also be aware of water dynamics inside-out to plan water storage for rainwater harvesting,” he said. The objective of making rainwater harvesting mandatory for projects, big and small, is to reduce dependency on piped water supplied by the Kerala Water Authority, according to Shreeganesh V. Nair, an expert.

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