Environmental Impact Assessment workshop for civic chiefs held

Tirupati: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) clearance is must for construction of buildings with more than 1,200 square feet in all the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) as per the new building plan rules, said Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) Joint Chief Engineer (JCE) M Siva Reddy. On Friday, the APPCB has organised a one-day workshop for civic chiefs of Rayalaseema region on EIA rules and its implementation.

Addressing the municipal commissioners, Siva Reddy has informed them that the central government has added green building plan rules to general plan approval conditions by amending EIA notification in 2016. In 2017, the AP government has included its rules in its bylaws and regulations.

At present, any construction exceeding 1,200 square feet should take approval as per green building rules, Siva Reddy said and added that an applicant should show the water and energy conservation provision for the proposed new building and should use recycled material for
construction.

As the urban local bodies are not implementing the green building plan approval rules, the APPCB took initiative for conducting an awareness on new environment conservation rules and regulations. The JCE informed that all the local bodies should set up EIA Engineers Cell to give permission for structures as per the green building plan.

Qualified Building Environment Auditors system is coming soon to assess whether green norms are being implemented in construction of buildings, he stated.

In the workshop, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi resource persons have explained the importance of the green building norms like implementation of water harvesting methods, rooftop solar energy generation and using of recycling building material in construction. Apart from municipal commissioners, APPCB officials and few ULB licensed planners have participated in the workshop.