Rajya Sabha MP, Mahesh Poddar during the first board meeting of Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) with the duly elected representatives after Municipal poll — 2018 lambasted on RMC officials over delay in constructing community rainwater harvesting. Poddar said that this is a case of sheer negligence in delivering duty in public interest.
Notably, the decision to construct community rainwater harvesting system at each ward due to the depleting ground water level was taken way back in 2016. The proposal of setting up community rainwater harvesting system had received collective consent of the ward councilors as well as all top notch officials.
During the tenure of then Municipal Commissioner, Prashant Kumar, the first community rainwater system was formally inaugurated on the premises of Zila School, Shaheed Chowk in the presence of Mayor Asha lakra, Deputy Mayor Sanjiv Vijayawargia including others. Ironically, the setup which marked the beginning of promoting the much needed water conservation technique across the State Capital at present is lying defunct with no one paying heed towards its maintenance.
During the meeting here on Wednesday, Rajya Sabha MP on Roshni Xalxo’s (ward councilor of 19) query demanded for the records of all city residents who are paying penalty for violating the rule including of those who had constructed the rainwater harvesting system. Ironically, neither the officials of RMC water board nor any of the elected representatives were able to quote the exact status of rainwater harvesting setup. Rainwater harvesting has been made compulsory for households having more than 3228 square feet area.
Meanwhile, presenting a rough estimate, RMC Executive Officer Ramkrishna Kumar said that over 65 per cent households, commercial setups including other are yet to abide by the rules of RMC regarding rainwater harvesting setup. The issue that raised the eyebrows of ward councilors in the wake of severe water crisis that continues to haunt city residents compelled the senior officials to plunge into action immediately.
Questioning the role of officials of RMC Water Board for this muddle, Municipal Commissioner Shaantanu Kumar Agrahari said that that whosoever is responsible for the delay will face the axe. The Municipal Commissioner during the meeting ordered to serve notice to the errant officials that include City Manager, Superintendent Engineer and Executive Engineers.
Engulfed in red Tapism for long after the intervention of Poddar to ensure construction of rainwater harvesting, Deputy Mayor, Vijayawargia asked all the ward councilors to identify a spot for constructing community rainwater harvesting system in their respective areas. “For the time being in the first phase identification of 20 spots at different places can be taken up on priority basis. Hydrologists can be consulted before setting up community rainwater harvesting system at different locations.
The Capital City which is reeling under the threat of ground water depletion registered immense remonstration of ward councilors over the two major issues – Water Supply and Sanitation. The newly constituted board which comprise of both new and old ward councilors, the members opined that none of the wards are getting sufficient water despite of availability of 65 water tankers.
Over the issue of irregular supply water in wards and city residents complain on over charging money, the Mayor issued instruction to ward councilors to ensure that all households must have water meters and in accordance to waivers committee decision, tax will be incurred on the respective households.
Furthermore, on hearing on the demands of the ward councilors, Poddar instructed the officials to constitute a separate committee for dealing the cases of water shortage as per the Municipal guidelines. “A dedicated committee will take up the grievances of each ward and will suggest measures accordingly. The committee must have some experts for best solutions. Moreover, alternate plan of encouraging private parties who supplies water must be encouraged to fill the existing gap,” Poddar added.