From now on, it is mandatory for all the new school structures run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to have rainwater harvesting systems. As per Anjali Naik, Chairperson of BMC education committee, if a new school project needs a no-objection certificate, it should adhere to school infrastructure cell (SIC) guidelines laid down by the BMC that includes installation of rainwater harvesting system. Speaking about the existing ones, Naik said that they have charted down the names of all schools which have installed rainwater harvesting systems but are in bad shape. "The list is already out and it has been further directed to the SIC for further analysis and construction work," she said. Rainwater harvesting systems in schools like Bharucha Road Municipal School, Sakharam Tare Municipal School in Kandivli localities and other schools in Bandra east, Mankhurd, Govandi, Sion, Santacruz have turned into garbage dumps due to lack of maintenance. There are close to 200 such schools, officials revealed. As per the SIC officials, the work is already started. "We have initiated the work in several schools. During the visits, we found that almost 30-40% of existing systems need maintenance. Once completed, they will be good to use," said an official from the SIC. However, school principals feel that it will be a waste of time considering the rainy seasons are about to end. "The city witnessed heavy rainfall this year. They should have initiated and completed the work earlier. Our rainwater harvesting system accumulated only muddy water since it is not functioning since ages now. Even after several requests, no heed was paid," said a principal of a Kandivli-based municipal school.

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