Hyderabad to host Green Building Congress 18

Hyderabad: The City of Pearls will host the 16th annual edition of CII-Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Green Building Congress 2018 from November 1-3, 2018 at HICC, Hyderabad. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India will inaugurate the event.           

C Shekar Reddy, Chairman, IGBC Hyderabad Chapter, said that IGBC, with over 6.33 billion sq. ft. has facilitated India to stand at second position in the world in terms of largest registered green building footprint, with various types of projects adopting IGBC green building rating systems. The need of the hour is to design and construct green buildings and communicate the benefits of a green building to various stakeholders.

The incremental cost of a green building has come down to about 2 to 3 per cent over conventional building, he informed. S Srinivas, Principal Advisor, CII- Godrej GBC, said that over 300 projects in the State are adopting IGBC green building rating systems and Telangana will play an important role in accelerating the adoption & promotion of green buildings and built-environment across the Country, he highlighted.

Green Building Congress 2018 will facilitate in increased uptake of green building projects and will strengthen IGBCs initiative on greening various forms of built environment, he added. It would be a win-win for all stakeholders, underlined Srinivas. 

Later on, speaking to reporters, Shekar Reddy said that Telangana must incentivize green buildings on the lines of other states like Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand which have already incentivised IGBC-rated green buildings.

“I personally gave a representation to Shailendra Kumar Joshi, Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana requesting the Government of Telangana to consider reducing permit fee by 20 per cent and reduce impact fee for certified green buildings to an extent of 20 per cent to motivate the developers and builders to adopt green buildings, interventions by design for IGBC certified green projects in Telangana,” he said.

He went on to add that CII-IGBC had requested the government to encourage rooftop solar in existing projects; reduce Water & Sewerage tariff by 10 per cent for certified green buildings for a period of 3 years from the date of Green Building certification; accord faster clearance in building permission, electrical & water connections for pre-certified & certified green buildings.

Reddy also said that a rebate of Property tax by 10 per cent, was incorporated in the G.O.168 for the projects installed & usage of solar heating & lighting system and undertake both recycling of waste water and rain water harvesting structures.