Storm Water Management: Decentralized And Nature-Based Policy Interventions In Bengaluru

Abstract

Bengaluru resembles an inverted saucer in topography where all the drains are in an outward direction from the city. Increasing urbanization has led to an increase in impervious surfaces creating disruptions in the urban water cycle by preventing infiltration of storm water into the ground. The city’s storm water management takes a centralized conveyance-based approach where the water is removed as quickly as possible from the source. The recent advancement is to facilitate distributed infiltration and thereby reconnect the hydrological cycle. This dissertation searches for the problems and prospects of storm water management in Bengaluru by analysing the existing laws, plans and regulations concerning storm water which includes the Master Plan, Structure Plan and other policy documents. It argues that the present plan-policy interventions arise out of the belief systems built up on a knowledge base of grey infrastructure and recommends policy interventions to bring in a nature-based approach to storm water management.