Tamil Nadu Orders Local Bodies to Enforce Rainwater Harvesting in All Buildings Under Thuli Campaign

Key facts

• Tamil Nadu has ordered local bodies across the state to enforce mandatory rainwater harvesting in all urban and rural buildings and restore defunct structures as part of a statewide campaign for the northeast monsoon.
• The order was issued on October 16 and calls for inspections of government offices, schools, hospitals, residential and commercial buildings to ensure rainwater harvesting systems are functional.
• Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay inaugurated an awareness campaign and launched 'Thuli', the campaign's raindrop logo, at an event on Marina Beach in Chennai.
• Under the order, rooftops, rainwater channels, filter chambers, recharge pits and wells will be cleaned and desilted, with measures including recharge trenches, shafts, percolation pits, storage structures and silt traps.
• The Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department will coordinate the initiative, with a state-level committee headed by the chief secretary reviewing progress and district collectors chairing district-level committees.
• Annual awards will be presented to the best-performing district, local body, school or college, government institution and community organisation, judged on structures created and restored, functionality, coverage, participation, innovation and maintenance.
• The initiative will be a continuous process with periodic inspections rather than one with a fixed deadline, according to a senior MAWS official.
• Tamil Nadu first mandated rainwater harvesting with a large-scale promotion drive in 2001, and under the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, local bodies can install structures at owners' cost and recover expenses like property tax.
• A similar push in 2019 under the AIADMK regime set a three-month deadline and launched community recharge wells on 15,000 streets in Chennai, but most structures were not properly maintained.
• In Chennai, the corporation will work with the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) to enable residents to seek repairs to existing rainwater harvesting systems.