 bill no 45 of  2016 the rainwater (harvesting and storage) bill, 2016 by dr kirit premjibhai solanki, mp a billto provide for compulsory harvesting of rainwater in every government, residential, commercial and institutional building to conserve water and ensure recharge of groundwater and for matters connected therewith be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the rainwater (harvesting and storage) act, 2016 (2) it extends to the union territories onlyshort title, extent and commencement5(3) it shall come into force on such date, as central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appointdeclaration2 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 bodiesdefinitions3 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires:—(a) "building" includes all such structures, sheds, houses and buildings 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(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;(e) "household" means a dwelling unit of any description; (f) "housing society" means a dwelling unit in a complex or building;15(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act; and (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 recharge204 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 buildings 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 than1100 square feet or every owner who proposes to construct an independent household building on a sital area of not less than 1l00 square feet shall install rainwater harvesting structures for storage and for use of harvested water or for groundwater rechargecompulsory rainwater harvesting by households and residential establishments(2) it shall be obligatory for the builders and promoters of every building and housing society 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 prescribed30(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 society6 (1) every commercial establishment 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 rainwater harvesting by commercial establishment35(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 establishment7 (1) the government shall, as soon as possible, prepare an action plan to educate the masses about the technology and the benefits of rainwater harvestingaction plan to educate the masses about rainwater harvesting(2) for the purpose of spreading awareness and promotion of rainwater harvesting, including 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 assistance58 the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament by lawin this behalf, provide requisite funds, from time to time, for carrying out the purposes of this actcentral government to provide requisite funds punishment109 whoever contravenes the provisions of this act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend upto two years and with fine which may extend upto rupees one lakhact to have overriding effect10 the provisions of this act and rules made thereunder 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 force15act not in derogation of other laws power 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 act by the central government shall be laid, as soonas 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 industrialisation 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;kirit  premjibhai  solankifebruary 8, 2016 financial memorandumclause 7 of the bill provides that the government shall provide adequate financial assistance to non-governmental organisations 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 one hundred crore is likely to be involved as recurring expenditure per annuma non-recurring expenditure of rupees two hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 12 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 of rainwater in every government, residential, commercial and institutional building to conserve water and ensure recharge of groundwater and for matters connected therewith————(dr kirit premjibhai solanki, mp)gmgipmrnd—4226ls(s3)—29022016