Jaipur gets country's greenest govt building, houses environment centre

The country’s first ever government five-star rated green building, the International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iCED), was inaugurated by vice president Hamid Ansari on Saturday.

Located in Kant Kalwar area of Jaipur, about 50 Km from the city on Jaipur-Delhi road, the institute was commissioned by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai, after the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions chose India as the centre for imparting environmental and sustainable development audit.
Rajasthan governor Margaret Alva also attended the inauguration.

The total built-up area is 3,30,000 sqft on 16.5 acres.

The project has been developed on the GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) principles, and is based on a sustainable design concept.

Other features of the building include minimum environmental footprint, use of fly ash, overhangs and fins to enhance building envelope, LED and efficient lighting with 100 per cent external lighting on solar PV cells and self-contained solid waste management system, among others.

Elaborating on iCED’s green features, Subhash Kalra, director of Arkiplan International, leading Dubai-based architecture and design company, says, “The centre is a prestigious project for Arkiplan. The CAG was very clear with the mandate. Our task was to build a sustainable structure with minimum impact on the environment.”

“Drawing on our global expertise combined with use of local raw material and introduction of energy efficient systems, we were able to accomplish the task well within time. Our main focus was remaining sensitive to the environment while embracing the highest technological standards,” he said.