Bengaluru: With drinking water becoming a scarcity as cities and towns are growing beyond limits, the State Government has tweaked the present rules governing water conservation, by enacting a Bill that makes it mandatory for owners of sites of dimensions 30’x40’ and above to have a rainwater harvesting system.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy tabled the Bill on behalf of Chief Minister S.R. Bommai in the Legislative Assembly yesterday. The House passed the Bill which envisages mandatory installation of a rainwater harvesting system in all homes built on sites measuring 30’x40’ and above. 

The Bill also makes it compulsory for sites measuring 40’x60’ to have two major  pipelines — one for collection of water and the other for supply and discharge. 

Sources said that the Bill also  gives a major boost for groundwater conservation, at a time when groundwater resources are getting depleted at alarming levels in almost all parts of the State. The rainwater harvesting system will also reduce the dependence on Cauvery, borewells or other sources of water for domestic use. This apart, the Bill  aims to address drainage issues, which has become a huge problem in  rapidly growing cities  and towns.