The conflicting realities of realty emerged in sharp focus at a recent seminar in the city on environmental norms.

?Urbanisation in the city is bound to increase to keep pace with development,? environment minister Manab Mukherjee said at Building Green Advantage: Workshop for Real Estate Developers, organised by the environment management centre of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

He, however, stressed that developers and promoters must abide by green norms in executing projects. ?Under the ICC, the good players are thinking in the right direction.?

State pollution control board chairman Sudip Banerjee pointed out that ?the quality of many of the Environment Impact Assessment reports, made for real estate projects in city, are atrocious, to say the least?.

Most of the reports, Banerjee went on to assert, ?are not only predominantly concocted, but are apparently a copy-and-paste exercise?.

A recent Asian Development Bank report on the city suggests that construction activities are responsible for 30 per cent of the pollution in its ambient air.

ICC secretary-general Nazib Arif pointed out that public discourse on the effect of real estate projects on Calcutta?s fragile environment was kicked off at the last environment excellence award programme, held a couple of months ago.

?We felt that being the fastest growing sector in the state, real estate should be included in the awards. The chief minister responded by saying that the industry should be made more aware about the importance of green norms,? Arif recalled.

Stressing the commercial viability of green buildings, Arif said: ?It is established that such projects now mean good business.?

Case studies of ?green buildings? were presented at the seminar, along with their virtues, ?ranging from economic use of energy to rainwater harvesting?.

Swadesh Bhattacharya, director-general of Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority, outlined the government?s 20-year blueprint on urbanisation.