Bhubaneswar, Sept. 10: Green buildings have caught the fancy of several Indian urban centres and the city is set to embrace the eco-friendly trend.
Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has already shown interest to allow more floor area ratio (FAR) to green buildings and the Hyderabad-based CII-Sohrabji Green Business Centre, on behalf of the Indian Green Building Council, has already started the process.
Green buildings can help in water conservation, waste management and reduce use of fossil fuel and ensure better health of people living there because of the better use of natural light and air circulation.
"Green buildings cost nearly five per cent more than conventional structures, but they start saving money from the second year after their commissioning,'' said principal counsellor of the green building expert group M. Anand.
"The BDA has shown interest to allow more FAR for green buildings as the structures will be contributing to building a better environment in the city. We had a round of discussion earlier and this year, we are having one more so that things materialise soon," he said, adding that Punjab Urban Development Authority and the authorities concerned in Jaipur and Noida have started allowing extra FAR for green buildings.
Anand, who was in the city to take part in a workshop on green building by the Confederation of Indian Industries and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said: "Bhubaneswar has already got several quality green structures, including the offices of leading IT firms such as TCS and Infosys. Twenty more projects, amounting three million square feet area is in the pipeline."
He said that at the national level, there were reduced home loan rates for green buildings with subsidy coming from some international banks. "In the near future, individual home loans would also see a rebate of around 0.25 per cent for the owners of green buildings,'' he said.
BDA planning member Sudhiranjan Mohanty said: "We have received such a proposal and would love to allow it. But there are a lot of formalities to be fulfilled. Not just green buildings, high-rises and big office complexes with solar power producing installations would also be eligible for some incentive. Water-harvesting structures would also be compulsory to get such rebates."
Former president of Real Estate Developers Association Pradipta Kumar Biswasroy said: "Materials needed for the construction of green structures and equipment for renewable energy production should be available at affordable prices."
