The Hindu Business Line : Sops sought for Green Buildings

INDIAN Green Building Council (IGBC) asked the Government on Thursday to make it mandatory for buildings above 20,000 square feet to incorporate minimum green features. It also sought incentives such as reduction in property tax and lower water and electricity tariffs for buildings that are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design- (LEED) certified.

"About Rs 1,800 crore worth of Green Buildings are expected to come up from 2010 onwards. Government should make it mandatory for buildings above 20,000 square feet to incorporate minimum green features. "At the State level, the Urban Development authorities should come out with prescriptive green measures for different varieties of buildings such as commercial, residential flats and individual houses," Mr ParasuRaman R., Chairman of Indian Green Building Council and Vice-Chairman of World Green Building Council, said at a Confederation of Indian Industry summit.

"Also, insurance companies should reduce premium on such buildings as they are less prone to risks," he pointed out.

Currently prevalent in developed countries, the LEED Green Building Rating System, is a voluntary, consensus-based standard for developing sustainable buildings. LEED provides a framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals.

Based on scientific standards, LEED focuses on sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

In India, audit and certification of green buildings are currently conducted by the US Green Building Council, while the entire process is facilitated by the Indian Green Building Council.

"However, some of the criteria under the LEED rating are not suited to Indian conditions. For instance, higher points are allotted for energy conservation than for water, whereas in India, it should be the reverse. So we are working on an indigenised LEED model, and we will start the audit and certification under this from January 2006," Mr ParasuRaman said.

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