In Mumbai: Thane civic body issues guidelines for making buildings eco-friendly

The corporation also plans to conduct energy audit of two residential societies along Ghodbunder Road and give them a sector-wise breakup of their energy consumption

You can convert your building into an eco-friendly structure by following the guidelines issued by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

Solar panels mounted atop a high-rise in Thane. (Praful Gangurde)

The corporation along with Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) and Shakti Foundation, an NGO, has issued a handbook on how to convert a high-rise into a green building. The civic authority said it would soon table the policy for green buildings in the general body which will give tax rebates to residents and developers who opt for the energy conserving buildings.

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) initiated the concept of green buildings in 2001.

As per IGBC’s definition, “A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building.”

A civic official requesting anonymity said, “The handbook will educate and guide people on the technology they can adopt to convert their building into a green one. Most residential societies are willing to go the eco-friendly way but don’t know how. The handbook will give them information on government schemes and grants related to energy saving buildings, how to avail the benefits of the schemes, what technologies they will have to adopt and the government websites which supply equipment.”

The corporation also plans to conduct energy audit of two residential societies along Ghodbunder Road and give them a sector-wise breakup of their energy consumption.

“This will be a pilot project to give them a road map on how to reduce power consumption. We will also suggest renewable energy options such as solar energy which these societies can adopt,” said a civic official.

The corporation does not have any policy for green buildings in the city. The developer gets three to five per cent tax rebate on developmental tax on green buildings, while the residents who adopt the technologies too might get rebate in property tax.

The official added, “Now that we have the handbook, we will table the policy on green buildings in the next one month.”

The residents can also download the green building guidelines from the corporation’s website www.thanecity.gov.in