Green buildings on rise in B'luru, despite little help from govt

These structures use less water, optimise energy and produce less waste

More and more green buildings are coming up in Bengaluru where the real estate has been booming for many years now. But unlike other states, Karnataka is hardly providing any incentive to encourage such initiatives.

A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building, according to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC.)

Bengaluru, as of February 2016, has 333 out of the 343 green building projects in Karnataka. The remaining are in Mysuru. Of the 343 projects, 87 in Bengaluru and four in Mysuru have been certified. Bengaluru ranks third on the list of green footprint for buildings in the country, said Chandrashekar Hariharan, co-chair, IGBC Bengaluru chapter, and chairman of Biodiversity Conservation Indian.

The shift to energy-efficient homes in India began in 2000 when the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the IGBC pioneered the initiative. The transition to green buildings gained momentum in 2010 and since then the IGBC has been seeing an increase, Hariharan told Deccan Herald.

A green building reduces at least 30 per cent of demand for water and energy. All forms of waste are managed in the building and the demand for energy from external grids is reduced. Ten years ago, constructing a green building would cost 7-8% more, but smart service providers have reduced it to less than three per cent now.

Unfortunately, Karnataka does not provide any incentive unlike in Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal and Rajasthan. In West Bengal, an additional floor area ratio or floor space index of 5-10% is provided for buildings certified green. Hariharan said Karnataka should give incentives to builders and home buyers, like waiving the taxes levied by civic agencies for a few years, or a subvention on registration costs for buyers to promote green buildings.

Pronab Dasgupta, Distinguished Fellow and Director, The Energy and Resource Institute, said TERI had been making efforts that the government and the public adopt green building norms.

In Bengaluru, green buildings can be built in new layouts that are being planned and where maximum natural resources can be used. TERI has recommended to the Central government to have green buildings in all public sectors, but its implementation is limited. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pune, has adopted green building norms. The civic body gives incentives to builders adopting green building norms. The same should be done in Bengaluru, Dasgupta said.

Hariharan said not many government buildings had gone for certification though there was a directive from the Central government about two years ago. Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) buildings in Bengaluru are an exception.