Contents List of figures iv List of tables v Abbreviations vi Executive summary viii 1 introduction 1 1.1 background 1 1.2 need for study 2 1.3 aim 2 1.4 research questions 2 1.5 objectives 3 1.6 research methodology 3 1.7 limitations 5 1.8 organization of study 5 2 rain water management: urban context 6 2.1 traditional rain water harvesting system 6 2.1.1 traditional rain water harvesting in indian 6 2.1.2 traditional rain water harvesting in ahmedabad 8 2.2 modern rain water harvesting system 12 2.2.1 methods for harvesting 12 2.2.2 components of rainwater harvesting system 12 2.2.3 case study 14 3 tankas of ahmedabad 17 3.1 history of ahmedabad 17 3.2 pols of ahmedabad 20 3.3 tankas: historical perspective to present situation 21 3.3.1 aesthetics of tanka 21 3.3.2 functioning of tanka 23 4 rain water harvesting practices in ahmedabad: study area 25 4.1 introduction 25 4.1.1 location 25 4.1.2 climate and rainfall 25 4.2 site selection for traditional rain water harvesting study 26 4.2.1 location of recognizance survey 28 4.2.2 location of detailed survey 29 4.3 primary survey for rain water harvesting structures 30 4.3.1 kameshwar ni pol 30 4.3.2 jethabhai ni pol 31 4.3.3 sarkiwad ni pol 32 4.3.4 talia ni pol 34 4.3.5 pipardi ni pol 36 4.3.6 pakhali ni pol 37 4.3.7 bauva ni pol 38 4.3.8 fatasha ni pol 39 4.3.9 brahmapuri ni pol 40 4.3.10 lakha patel ni pol 41 4.3.11 desai ni pol and dhobi ni pol 43 4.3.12 pushkarna ni pol 44 4.4 typical size of tankas 46 4.5 status of traditional water harvesting structures 48 4.6 issues, reasons and people’s perceptions for dying wisdom 53 4.7 site selection for current rain water harvesting system 57 4.7.1 history of town planning scheme 57 4.7.2 history of gdcr regarding rain water harvesting 57 4.8 primary survey for town planning schemes 58 4.9 status of modern water harvesting system 62 4.10 issues, reasons and people’s perceptions for modern water harvesting 64 5 role of government and policy intervention on rainwater harvesting 65 5.1 introduction 65 5.2 initiatives taken by different governments (cities/ states) 66 5.3 learning for ahmedabad 74 6 challenges, opportunity of traditional and current water harvesting practices. 76 6.1 introduction 76 6.2 potential of rainwater harvesting 76 6.2.1 potential of traditional water harvesting 76 6.2.2 potential of current water harvesting & recharge 78 6.3 issues and strategies 79 6.3.1 matching solutions to the problems of traditional rainwater harvesting 79 6.3.2 matching solutions to the problems of current rainwater harvesting & recharge 82 6.4 conclusion 84 Bibliography 86