The government has recently taken a decision to lead by example by having all new central government and PSU buildings to meet requirements of at least three star rating under GRIHA, though efforts would be made to achieve four star requirements wherever site conditions permit. This was revealed by Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy, at the National Conference for GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment). Inaugurating the event in New Delhi today, he said that the new buildings should be functional, aesthetically beautiful as well as energy efficient. Emphasizing the need to consider regional conditions while planning, the Minister said that it is time to work towards a world free of fossil fuels. He said, “Either we wake up now or sleep forever.”

Deepak Gupta, Secretary, MNRE who was present on the occasion said that India is already witnessing a process of rapid urbanization leading to tremendous energy demand in urban areas. GRIHA, , he said, has been developed keeping in mind our climatic conditions, a National Rating System that is suitable for all types of buildings in different climatic zones of the country. Shri Gupta informed that the Ministry has incentivised GRIHA to promote large scale design and construction of green buildings that includes re- imbursement of registration fee, cash awards, etc. He said that CPWD has recently taken a decision that all its constructions would meet requirements of green buildings, and they are also revising contracting and costing procedures to accommodate the special services required for buildings to be green. With an aim to expedite implementation of the rating system, MNRE has recently modified provisions of the scheme to exempt first 100 Govt. / Public Sector Buildings from paying registration-cum-rating fee in advance at the time of registration, Shri Gupta added. He said, “We now have to go beyond buildings and develop green habitats so that all new urban complexes or cities adhere to these principles. The Ministry, along with The Energy & Resources Institute, TERI and other stakeholder institutions, is preparing a comprehensive capacity building programme.”

Explaining the importance of green buildings, Director General, TERI, R K Pachauri said that GRIHA is more suited to Indian conditions than any other overseas ratings. He said that India could provide help to other nations to see that building sector across the globe is efficient and not be a parasite feeding on our depleting natural resources.

Globally, lots of efforts are being made to develop technologies and systems for construction of energy efficient buildings as well as for air-conditioning and lighting systems. Rating systems have been found quite effective in understanding performance of the buildings and scope for further improvement. In India, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has supported development of a buildings rating system, GRIHA, based on the initial work carried out at TERI and inputs received from various stakeholders. The rating system is in harmony with the NBC 2005, ECBC 2007 and other IS codes.

MNRE is implementing a Scheme on “Energy Efficient Solar/ Green Buildings” with the main objective to promote the widespread construction of energy efficient solar/ green buildings in the country through a combination of financial and promotional incentives to save a substantial amount of electricity and other fossil fuels apart from having peak load shavings in cities and towns. To achieve the objectives, the scheme has provisions for i) providing reimbursement of 90% of the rating-cum-registration fee for buildings rated for their performance under National Rating System, ii) providing incentives to architects and consultants to design buildings on Green Architectural concepts and get them rated under GRIHA, iii) providing financial support for promotional activities, iv) providing incentives to local urban bodies, v) institution of awards/incentives for green buildings rated 5 star, and vi) organizing various other activities related to development of web based tools, e-learning modules, etc.

ADaRSH, an independent platform for building professionals, developers and government officials was formally launched on the occasion.

This was the first GRIHA National Conference organized by MNRE and TERI to mark the launch of the GRIHA and also to provide a platform for mutual discussions and interaction amongst the various stakeholders. Around 300 participants – architects, engineers, developers, govt. officials from CPWD, NBCC, IEL, NTPC, etc attended the conference.

An exhibition was also organized on green building materials and technologies for ready reference for their applicability in designing green buildings and their energy saving potential.

Currently there are around 40 projects of various types registered with GRIHA across India. GRIHA helped make a bid difference in the triple-bottom-line of these projects. IIT Kanpur, Environmental Science and Engineering Block was able to reduce its energy consumption significantly in its bid to earn a 5 star rating. The Common Wealth Games village won accolades from the Ministry of Labour in its bid to comply with GRIHA.

Source: PIB

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