Hyderabad, Dec 15 (UNI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said that India has the potential to lead the Global Green Building Movement and emphasised the need to promote the green building concept by both the private sector and the government.
Inaugurating the 12th GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Summit virtually, organized by the GRIHA Council here on Tuesday, Mr Naidu appealed to the Finance Commissions and local bodies to encourage green buildings through various measures including tax incentives.
He also wanted all states to create online portals to provide a single window clearance to green buildings.
Recognizing that there is a lack of awareness among people about the green building concept, he also called for the launch of a mass media campaign on the advantages of building green homes. “Green building movement should become a people's movement”, the Vice President said.
Quoting the World Green Building Council data, Mr Naidu said that buildings and construction account for 39 per cent of energy-related CO2 emissions in the world and called for accelerating the process of total de-carbonization of the built environment.
Noting that “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan” envisions making India self-reliant in all spheres, the Vice President re-emphasised the need for sustainable development and wanted awareness to be increased among the people in this regard.
Calling buildings as one of the major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions, he said that there is a need for concerted and coordinated efforts from all stakeholders to ensure that the buildings are environment-friendly and energy & resource-efficient.
“The construction material we use today should be sustainable—it should not in any way jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their needs”, he added.
He expressed happiness over several government and private bodies committing to build their future buildings greener.
The Vice President wanted every future building to go green mandatorily and said that this should apply to all kinds of buildings. Not only new buildings, the existing buildings too have to be retrofitted to make them environment-friendly, Mr Venkaiah added.
UNI VV CS 1446