GHMC collects crores, has no means to monitor RWHS pits

New Indian Express

11-07-2025

HYDERABAD: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has collected Rs 21.2 crore in the last five years as Rainwater Harvesting Structure (RWHS) charges from property owners seeking building permissions, yet nearly 40% of buildings above 200 square metres lack the mandatory RWHS pits.
GHMC also collects development charges, labour cess, environmental impact fees, and open space contribution charges for building permissions. The GHMC mandates that owners construct RWHS at their own expense but offers no technical assistance and has no follow-up mechanism in place to ensure compliance or maintenance.
In the last five years, the GHMC has approved 7,210 building permissions and issued 23,239 RWHS permissions. While the collected funds are intended to build pits in public spaces, both officials and surveys admit that many of these structures have become defunct due to poor upkeep.
A survey conducted by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) on RWHS pits in buildings with an area above 300 square metres found that 40 per cent of the buildings lacked mandatory RWHS pits but were still given Occupancy Certificates (OCs).
Even among the 60 per cent that had soak pits, many have become defunct due to lack of maintenance. The GHMC has admitted that it has no mechanism to check regular maintenance.
Of the 42,784 surveyed premises, 22,825 were found to have RWHS, while 17,385 lacked them. Notices were issued to 16,190 owners to construct the RWHS.
The HMWSSB has urged GHMC to ensure strict compliance with the rules before issuing Occupancy Certificates for any buildings above 200 square metres, as per the WALTA Act. It must check whether the owners have constructed RWHS pits; if not, their OC applications should be rejected.