Rainwater harvesting should not be an addendum to our buildings, it must be part of integral hardcore infrastructure

Stating that real estate developers need to change the way they build housing projects and focus on making them self-sustainable, said D Thara, additional secretary of the ministry of housing and urban affairs, said that rainwater harvesting cannot be an addendum to buildings. It has to be part of integral hardcore infrastructure. 

Thara urged the real estate sector to revisit traditional practices and invest in technologies that enhance environmental sustainability. She said that rainwater harvesting should become a core infrastructure component in housing complexes to reduce dependence on external water sources and promote water conservation within communities.

“Real estate developers should provide both rain harvesting, solar energy for all housing projects, ” she said at the 3rd convention of real estate body Naredco’s women wing ‘NAREDCO Mahi’ held in the Capital on June 14.

“It’s very important to change the way we are building houses. Let us not get water from outside. Can you get water for your own buildings, for your own use and energy from your own buildings, for your own use,” Thara said when asked about her wish list from the developers’ fraternity.

“The world has to change from centralised energy and water production to decentralised citizen-based water and energy production. Rainwater harvesting cannot be an addendum to our buildings. It has to be part of integral hardcore infrastructure,” she observed.

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She said that the real estate sector should gear up for new housing challenges until 2029, with rain harvesting as a core element for housing projects.

“The real estate sector should gear up to meet housing-related challenges for the next five years by revisiting their old practices and preparing to invest in rain harvesting and creating play spaces for children in their housing complexes. The sector should look at providing provisions for cool pathways powered by solar energy,” she said.

In future housing projects, the real estate sector should create walkable spaces and provision for parks, school-ways, and pathways powered by solar energy. Additionally, builders would need to incorporate ample rain harvesting and water resource management within the project site, rather than depending on water supplies from neighbouring locations, she said.

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Naredco President G Haribabu regretted that the real estate sector still does not have as many women entrepreneurs as required for its potential because their participation is still about 8-10%, whereas in other professions such as medical and nursing, women’s participation reaches almost 4% of the total capacity.

He said the time has come for each real estate player to consider increasing the enrolment of women in the real estate sector.

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Naredco Chairman Niranjan Hiranandani highlighted that in the first cabinet meeting of the new NDA government, construction of 3 crore housing units was cleared for the next five years, of which 2 crore would be built in rural areas, while the remaining 1 crore would be constructed in urban areas.

“This would give a new direction to the real estate sector for its all-around transformation,” he said.

Hiranandani also demanded that the government should launch a ₹25,000 crore programme for the rehabilitation of slum dwellers in and around Mumbai.

NAREDCO Mahi president Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi said the association has been doing its best to promote women empowerment in real estate.

NAREDCO vice Chairman Rajan Bandelkar also appreciated the emphasis of the new government to construct an additional 3 crore housing units in the affordable housing sector, saying it would be another landmark to register higher growth in the Indian real estate sector.