New govt buildings to comply with green rating norms

New government and public sector unit buildings will have to mandatorily comply with new green rating norms to tackle climate change threats.

"This decision was taken by the Centre two days ago to ensure that buildings are environment-friendly aiming to achieve high energy utilisation," Farooq Abdullah, minister of new and renewable energy, said at a function in New Delhi on Monday.

He said all new buildings of government and PSUs will have to comply with the requirement of at least 3 star rating under the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.

Efforts will be, however, made for higher rating by such buildings subject to the site condition as western rating systems are not suited for Indian climate and GRIHA has been designed exclusively for Indian buildings, the minister added.

GRIHA is a national rating system under which green buildings will be rated by technical expertise from The Energy Resources Institute, headed by RK Pachauri.

The aim of a green building design is to minimise the demand of non-renewable sources and maximise its utilisation.

While emphasising on integrating traditional heritage with scientific tools, the Minister suggested that even small dwelling units being constructed under the Indira Awas Yojna be brought under the GRIHA ambit to ensure sustainability.

Deepak Gupta, secretary in the renewable ministry, said CPWD has already adopted GRIHA rating and efforts are being made to spread awareness in this direction among the concerned stakeholders including builders and architects.

"A technical group has also been constituted to study the feasibility of GRIHA in larger areas such as townships and campus. The team will submit its report within the next six months," Gupta said.

Buildings will be rated on the basis of design, system design, including ventilation, water and waste management, indoor environmental quality and selection of ecologically sustainable materials.

"The country is witnessing rapid boom in construction industry and the primary objective of the rating system is to help design green buildings and in turn help evaluate the greenness of buildings", Pachauri said.

"The rating systen follows best practices along with national and international codes that are applicable to achieve the intent of sustainable architecture and building design."