 bill no 169 of  2017 the rainwater (harvesting and storage) bill, 2017 by dr a sampath, mp a billto provide for compulsory harvesting or rainwater in every government, residential, commercial and institutional building to conserve water and ensure recharge of groundwater and for matters connected therewithbe  it enacted by parliament in the sixty-eighth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the rainwater (harvesting and storage) act, 2017(2) it extends to the union territories onlyshort title, extent and commencement(3) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationdeclaration2 it is hereby declared that it is expedient in public interest that the union government undertake adequate measures to harvest rainwater so as to conserve water and prevent over-exploitation of existing water bodiesdefinition3  in this act, unless the context otherwise requires:—(a) "building" includes all such structures, sheds, houses and buildings which are wholly or partially owned, possessed built or occupied by the government of india as may be notified by the government under this act;5(b) "commercial establishment" means any building which is being used as an office or factory or for any other commercial purpose in connection with any trade or business;(c) "government" means the central government or the union territory administration, as the case may be;10 15(d) "government building" means any building occupied or being used by any government department or ministry and includes offices of public sector enterprises, statutory bodies, bodies owned or administered by the government, autonomous bodies, bodies of local self government and residential areas provided by the government to government employees and those under public private partnership mode;(e) "household" means a dwelling unit of any description; (f) "housing society" means a dwelling unit in a complex or building; (g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act; and20(h) "rainwater harvesting" means collection and storage of rainwater from rooftop of a building or other parts of a building or from a vacant land for use or for the purpose of groundwater recharge 4 it shall be the duty of the government to ensure and implement such measures, as it may deem necessary and appropriate, to harvest rainwater in government building within such time as may be prescribedcompulsory rainwater harvesting in government buildings255  (1) every owner of an independent household building having area of not less than 1100 square meters or every owner who proposes to construct an independent household building on a sital area of not less than 1100 square meters shall install rainwater harvesting structures for storage and for use of harvested water or for groundwater rechargecompulsory rainwater harvesting by households and residential establishments30(2) it shall be obligatory for the builders and promoters of every building and  housing society which receives any type of financial assistance or concessions from the central government to install rainwater harvesting structure on the top of every building or in the land forming part of the property, in order to meet a part of its total requirement of water in such manner as may be prescribed(3) the responsibility to ensure compliance of the provisions of sub-section (2) shall lie with the developer or builder of the proposed building or housing society35explanation:— for the purposes of this section "builder" or "developer" means the company or individual or group of individuals responsible for the planning and construction of the building or housing society406  (1) every commercial establishment having any type of contracts or assignment with the government of india shall adopt such measures to provide rain water harvesting structures for storage and for use of harvested water or for groundwater recharge within the premises of the commercial establishmentcompulsory harvesting by commercial establishment45(2) the responsibility to ensure compliance of the provisions of sub-section (1) shall lie on the person, by whatever name called, who is primarily responsible for the affairs of that establishment| 7                                                                        ||---------------------------------------------------------------------------|| the masses about the technology and the benefits of rainwater harvesting || action plan to                                                            || educate the                                                               || masses about                                                              || rainwater                                                                 || harvesting                                                               |5(2)  for the purpose of spreading awareness and promotion of rainwater harvestingincluding awareness and promotion through internet, the government shall encourage non-governmental organisations and other agencies or institutions engaged in the field of rainwater harvesting by providing them adequate financial assistance8 the central government shall, after due appropriate made by parliament by law in this behalf, provide requisite funds, from time to time, for carrying out the purposes of this actcentral government to provide requisite funds10punishment9 whoever contravenes the provisions of this act shall be punished withimprisonment for a term which may extend up to two years and with fine which may extend up to rupees one lakhact to have overriding effect1510 the provisions of this act and rules made there under shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force11 this provisions of this act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law for the time being in forceact not in derogation of other lawspower to make rules12 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act20 25(2) every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement of objects and reasonswater availability per capita has been on the decline in india due to increasing demand for water and the rapid population growth the quantum of water available in the country being fixed, the increasing demand has reduced per capita water availabilitythere is a large-scale pollution of water as a result of industrialization and urbanization, a trend which has to be checked water in most industries is used for cooling purposes, thus, it is not necessary to use potable water instead, the recycled water may be used for this purpose demand of water for domestic use can also be reduced for example, in most urban areas about 125 litres of water is used in one flushing by using the recycled water over and over again, fresh water can be conservedcompulsory rainwater harvesting is, therefore, need of hour it will not only reduce the burden on limited water resources but will also ensure sustainability for the future generationshence this billnew delhi;a sampathjuly 7, 2017 financial memorandumclause 7 of the bill provides that the government shall provide adequate financial assistance to non-governmental organizations and other agencies or institutions engaged in the field of rainwater harvesting for the purpose of spreading awareness among people about the importance of rainwater harvesting clause 8 provides that the central government shall provide requisite funds for carrying out the purposes of this act the bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of  india it is estimated that a sum of rupees five hundred crore is likely to be involved as recurring expenditure per annuma non-recurring expenditure of about rupees two hundred crore is likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 9 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto provide for compulsory harvesting or rainwater in every government, residential, commercial and institutional building to conserve water and ensure recharge of groundwater and for matters connected therewith————(dr a sampath, mp)