Bengaluru: The latest guidelines on building construction by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change will soon be implemented in the state. Local agencies such as BBMP and the Pollution Control Board will oversee the construction sector to ensure the new norms are followed.
‘Environmental Guidelines for Buildings’ contains about 30 parameters to be complied with for efficient management of energy, water, land, solid waste, air quality and noise levels during pre-construction, construction and post construction period.
The Ministry noted that there is a need to sensitize the States and other stakeholders to the need for ‘green construction’ in view of the fact that building sector consumes 40% of electricity generated in the country, 30% of raw materials and 20% each of water and land resources besides generating 30% of solid waste and 20% of effluents.
“It’s good that the government has now come up with the guidelines and they must be implemented in the best of spirits. Karnataka already has numbers of strong laws in urban sector where the builders can be prosecuted for causing problems to others and to public property during the construction period. But most of these laws are not followed or implemented. The BBMP has all the rights to book the people who dump construction debris on the footpaths and roads, but not many cases are booked in Bengaluru though such acts blocks traffic around the construction sites,” said an urban expert.
The Ministry stated that the states have broadly agreed to comply with the proposed guidelines for construction projects in urban areas stating that the stipulations are feasible for implementation. Scientists from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) who have been criticizing the construction sector for not following the present norms which are listed by the Pollution Control Board, have welcomed the new directions.
Dr T V Ramachandra from IISc said the recent workshop by the Ministry appears to be “business as usual” and do not show any effort towards eco friendly architecture. “Carbon footprint assessment in Bengaluru reveals that zones with tall buildings with glass facades are energy guzzlers evident from the ten times higher electricity consumption. Residents in the zones consume about 1400-1600 units (kWh) of electricity/person/year compared to the zones dominated by glass facades buildings where consumption is 14,000-17,000 units per person per year. Higher the electricity consumption means higher carbon footprint and greater contributions to global warming and consequent changes in the climate. These architecture (glass facades) are required in temperate climate (cold regions) wherein heat has to be conserved and not suitable for tropical climate (like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, etc.),” he said.
