E-Paper
Societies go green but maintenance of projects remains a challenge
As per the experts working in the field, over 20 per cent of societies have already implemented various green projects in Pune, while a major part of the society is in the consideration phase
Pune: With over a decade of efforts, Pune is now seeing a positive change with a high demand for societies with green projects even as maintenance is posing as a major challenge. As per the experts working in the field, over 20 per cent of societies have already implemented various green projects in Pune, while a major part of the society is in the consideration phase. However, along with implementation, the major challenge coming up for the same is creating a mindset for the maintenance of green projects in societies, said the experts.
Currently, there are over 18,000 registered Cooperative housing societies in Pune. Apart from this, there are several unregistered societies, ranging from 20 to 500 flats in one society.
Of this, nearly 20 percent of housing societies have started the implementation of various initiatives to support of environment such as solar power, rainwater harvesting, wet waste treatment, plantation on ground area, provision for EV charging, and solar for water heating.
Nearly 40 per cent of housing societies are considering initiating green projects and demanding awareness programs. “For this, we have organised a special exhibition program in October next week. In the remaining societies, there is a need to create awareness among the people,” said Suhas Patwardhan, head of the Pune District Co-Operative Housing Societies and Apartments Federation.
According to Mangesh Dighe, environment officer, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), “These initiatives are beneficial in terms of energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste management. It ultimately benefits from reducing carbon emissions. As per the property tax concession record till March, over 1 lakh citizens have received a concession benefit in property tax with the highest 40,920 projects for vermiculture composting units. The second most common project includes both Solar and Vermiculture composting units 31,604.”
Although there are some records about such projects through the property tax concession database, no formal data has been compiled by PMC on an individual or societal basis, said Dighe.
Poorva Keskar, co-chair, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Pune chapter said, “Since its establishment in 2007, the IGBC has made various efforts to create awareness among people for a sustainable lifestyle, sensitizing developers to adopt green initiatives in construction practices. It also helps government authorities in the policy-making process as well as the implementation of green initiatives. In recent years, especially after the pandemic, we have seen a positive change among developers as they are adopting green projects. Property tax concessions and green credits from banks are boosting the green movement in Pune. Moreover, a trend has been seen where buyers are prioritizing the societies that implement green projects like Solar plants, Composting units, energy efficiency practices, and a few others.”
Speaking about this, Keshav Tamhankar, director Green Society project of Rotary District 3131 said, “The organisation with the help of the Indian Green Building Council and various industry experts has taken up the Green Society initiative for the year 2023-2024. We have also conducted feedback survey activities from Over 100 societies from various localities in Pune that registered for this green society initiative. A basic report has been prepared about what are the requirements of societies regarding green initiatives.”
A field visit will be conducted this year to those societies to assess the existing plants and their requirements, and also suggestions will be given as to what exactly can be done to encourage sustainability in their society.
