Who is to be blamed for water scarcity during summer months? Are the developers making necessary arrangements for rainwater harvesting? These are very important questions and deserve serious answers The sweltering summer is back and, now, one can feel the heat, quite literally. Also, it is a truism that people in big cities and metros suffer due to water scarcity. All this, when it has been drilled into our collective consciousness that we can fight water shortage if necessary arrangements for rainwater harvesting are in place. "Of course! You cannot ignore the fact that water is not inexhaustible, hence we need to save it. All the developers make arrangements for rainwater harvesting in their complexes," Sunil Jindal, the chief executive of SVP developers, says. There is another view that though developers make arrangement for water harvesting, houseowners hardly show interest in this matter. Experts also say the inability to react, except in a crisis, is typical of us. That is why rainwater harvesting has not picked up. The procedure is systematic, not complex. In many cases, it is very simple. However we must avoid over-simplistic solutions too, which serve no purpose. "Our customers can always find out from us how to maintain the water harvesting system, ensure water supply and replenish groundwater. It goes without saying that a success story of water conservation in an apartment complex will spread the word around and will be looked upon as a major achievement, especially in times when the word scarcity is so closely associated with water," Gaurav Mittal, the managing director of CHD Developers, says. Rajendra Singh, a well-regarded water conservationist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, says that as the water tables everywhere are falling, water conversation is the only answer. "If we do not wake up now, it will be very late," he says. The Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished along the banks of the Indus, and in other parts of western and northern India, about 5,000 years ago, had one of the most sophisticated urban water supply and sewage systems in the world. The fact that the people were well acquainted with hygiene can be seen from the covered drains running beneath the streets of the ruins at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Water conservation has become the need of the day. The idea of groundwater recharging by harvesting rainwater is the need of the hour. Since June 2001, the ministry of urban development has made rainwater harvesting mandatory in all new buildings with a roof area of more than 100 sq metres and in all plots with an area of more than 1,000 sq metres. The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has made rainwater harvesting mandatory in all institutions and residential colonies in notified areas (South and Southwest Delhi and adjoining areas like Faridabad, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad). This is also applicable to all the buildings in notified areas that have tube wells. Water woes coming up for UT: Residents of Chandigarh, too, better brace themselves up for water shortage this summer. A reality check by the engineering wing of the municipal corporation shows that Chandigarh needs 105-110 million gallons per day (MGD) in the summer season, but the current availability is only 87MGD. Though the engineering wing is installing 10 new tube wells in the city and repairing 12 other non-functional tube wells to bridge the gap between demand and supply, these measures will only help in getting 6MGD more. While the city residents will have to use water judiciously and sparingly, the civic body has also chalked out a plan to penalize anyone wasting water. In the city beautiful, people are not bothered about water harvesting in the rainy season. As far as Delhi is concerned, it requires around 850 million gallons of water daily, whereas the supply is only 650 million gallons. "An analysis based on the rainfall availability and demand-supply gap shows that even 50% of the rainwater harvested could help in bridging the demand-supply gap," said an officer of Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). He said that more than anything, a collective effort is required to make it a reality. V K Jain, the chairman of a Delhi-based NGO TAPAS, says: "Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) can spare some time from their daily schedule and meet on the various aspects of rainwater harvesting in their area. Rainwater harvesting can be taken up and implemented successfully in key cities by all individuals concerned, who are looking at ways to fulfil their own water needs." Stressing on the need to revive the age-old Indian tradition of water management, Jain says: "It was built on two principles: one, rainwater harvesting had primacy over river water or groundwater harvesting; and community and household management had primacy over state supply of water. So, every household had a role to play in collecting rainwater. Every drop was harvested." Rajendra Singh says that we have to move from a mindset of plenty to one of scarcity, meaning unlimited supply is no longer an option and we have to learn to manage demand. We have to learn from those within our country and outside who have managed with less and made the most of a scarce resource. One has to visit rural Rajasthan and Gujarat to know what efficient use of water at household level is all about. Last, but not the least, please ensure that there is no leaky tap or valve in your house. Such small efforts can make lot of difference.