Background

Though West Bengal generally receives a fair amount of rainfall during the monsoons, it is found that no measures are usually taken for utilization of this resource. Most of the rainwater finds its way to drains and nullahs as runoff.

As it is well known, water is normally used for household activities like drinking, cooking, washing, bathing, gardening for industrial use, for irrigation etc. The quality of the water required for many of these purposes is not of the same standard. The water supplied mostly by abstraction of ground water and to some extent, by surface water through treatment is used to meet the demand in West Bengal. Thus if rainwater is stored, and later on used for some of these activities, then, this could contribute to water conservation.

The rapid urbanization and industrialisation have also meant rapid withdrawal of ground water without paying much heed to the hydro geological characteristics of the area. Also, ground water is being almost continually withdrawn for various purposes, but recharge or replenishment of the same is not compensated. As a result, the water level in ground is depleting day by day.

Legislation

Legislation plays a very important role in achieving compliance. In some other states such as Tamilnadu, legislation on rainwater harvesting is in place by promulgating an ordinance in July,2003 which amended the existing different Municipal and Panchayat Acts for compulsorily providing rain water harvesting structures in every building owned or occupied by the Govt. or a statutory body or a company or an institution owned or controlled by Govt. or every owner and occupier of a building. The workshop will also throw light on this aspect.

Workshop Details

Against this background, the WBPCB is holding the workshop at the auditorium of Paribesh Bhaban on 16^th January 2004 to create awareness on water conservation and rainwater harvesting, and also to disseminate information on the low cost technological solutions that are available for the same.

Shri Hirak Ghosh, Principal Secretary, Deptt. Of Environment, Govt. of West Bengal and Chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board will inaugurate the workshop. Shri Sukumar Das, Principal Secretary, State Water Investigation Directorate (SWID), and Shri Dilip Gupta, Chairman , Bidhannagar Municipality will remain present as special guests. Dr. Shyamal Sarkar, Member Secretary, West Bengal Pollution Control Board will preside over the inaugural session. The participants at the workshop include representatives from development authorities, municipalities and municipal corporations, and also various govt. deptts. have been invited to take part in the workshop. About 60 participants are expected to attend this workshop.

Scope of the Workshop

1. To create an understanding of the water resource scenario of West Bengal
2. To provide alternative low cost technological solutions for rain water harvesting

Two demonstration projects have already been implemented with the active participation of an NGO from Guwahati-Action for Food Production (AFPRO). The sites are at Bidhannagar Municipal Complex-Poura Bhaban and Bidhannagar College. The participants will be exposed to these projects.

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