Need to promote construction of green buildings in India: Govt

The development of green buildings should be promoted across the country and a campaign should be run to create awareness that difference in construction costs for such properties and conventional ones is marginal, a senior government official said on Thursday. Addresing a webinar, Surendra Kumar Bagde, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, stressed that a campaign should be run to spread awareness about the marginal cost difference between green and conventional buildings. He emphasised that green buildings concept should be promoted in tier II and tier III cities as well.

According to a statement issued by Naredco, Bagde said that all the required laws and regulations are in place to help developers construct green buildings. National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) organisded a webinar ‘India’s Leadership Role in Advancing Green Buildings’. Although the cost of green buildings is marginally higher, it is in greater good to go green, these associations observed. “India, which is now third globally in terms of green buildings after China and Canada, may well turn number one by 2022,” the statement said.

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NAREDCO Chairman Rajeev Talwar advocated for more and more greenery in cities. “In many urban agglomerations it may not be possible, but the more vertical we go, the greater the chance that we can go green,” he said. “Now city forests are a part of life and that’s where the government can step in,” he added. On the energy conservation and greener steps by the industry as a whole, he said that not only rain water harvesting, water recycling should also be taken up expeditiously. Talwar said that its time mass transport moves towards electricity. Rajan Bandelkar, Vice President-West, NAREDCO, said the realtors’ body NAREDCO has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IGBC.

V Suresh, Chairman, IGBC, exuded confidence that the journey from green buildings to green built-environment will help India shift gears in its journey of becoming a leader in the green building movement. Gurmit Singh Arora, Vice Chairman, IGBC noted that India has been a global leader in the green buildings movement over the last two decades, with over 7.83 billion square feet of green footprint. “The contribution of all the stakeholders including government, developers and builders in the green journey has been phenomenal,” he added.