IGBC appeals state government to extend incentives for Green Buildings

Hyderabad: Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) National Chairman C Shekar Reddy appealed to Telangana government to extend incentives, such as reduction in propoerty tax, for the IGBC certified residential buildings. He noted that so far the state government is providing few incentives only to certain categories of industrial green buildings. Revealing that the state government is considering their proposal regarding the incentives, he hoped that the government would soon announce incentives for green projects.

On Friday, IGBC held a round table meeting on ‘Building a Greener Hyderabad’, focusing on water security, climate-resilient urban development, affordable green homes and energy-efficient buildings, in Hyderabad.

On this occasion, speaking to reporters, Shekar Reddy said that every building should go to IGBC rating to address the global warming and climate change problems. He explained: “with the IGBC certification enegry and water consumption can be saved significantly. Approximately 208 billion liters of water per annum has been saved across the country in IGBC certified buildings. In Telangana, of the total 1283 registered buildings, 541 IGBC certified buildings are saving 6.56 billion liters per annum. Pre – certified 157 buildings will save about 10.28 billion liters per annum in future.”

In the view of water scarcity like conditions due to prevailing El-Nino effect, Shekar Reddy suggested the government to take measures to create awareness among public to minimize the water consumption. He asked the government to ensure all water harvesting pits in the residential building be cleaned for effective groundwater recharge. He also suggested to create Green volunteer system.

M Anand, Executive Director of IGBC, said that so far about 20,000 buildings have adopted IGBC ratings across the country, including multinational companies, industries, residential complexes and others. IGBC rated building will also contribute to the reductions of carbon emmission and improves quality of life, he added.