AP CM Bats For Green, Regenerative Urban Growth

Speaking at the inauguration of the Earth Centre at Whitefield in Bengaluru, Naidu stressed the need to shift from “grey growth” to “green growth”.
Naidu inaugurated the centre along with Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

The Earth Centre has been designed by integrating nature, technology and a modern work environment, with emphasis on sustainable construction, connection with nature and the use of recycled materials.

Naidu said cities must move away from concrete jungles and governments must embrace environment-friendly construction methods. Buildings, he said, should not merely consume resources but should be designed to use them intelligently and, wherever possible, create resources.

“Development should not stop, but it should not hurt the environment,” he said, calling for innovative thinking and responsible action to balance growth with environmental protection.
Naidu said the adverse effects of climate change were not a problem for the distant future but a challenge that society was already facing. Environmental protection, he said, must be recognised as everyone’s responsibility.

The CM called for the adoption of net-zero approaches in building construction, greater use of solar power and effective water conservation measures. Converting waste into compost and promoting reuse on a wider scale would also be essential, he said, adding that such measures would help achieve the objectives of Swachh Bharat, Swachh Karnataka and Swachh Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu said the Earth Centre had been built keeping in mind the present environmental challenges and asserted that environmentally sustainable buildings would define the future. While meeting people’s needs, equal importance must be given to protecting nature, he said.

The buildings being constructed today would shape the climate and environmental conditions of cities in the coming decades. For decades, urban development had largely relied on grey infrastructure, but the focus now should shift towards green growth, circular growth and regenerative growth, he said.

The Chief Minister said buildings must be designed in ways that would generate clean energy. “Every rooftop can become a power plant, every drop of water can be reused and every waste stream can be turned into a resource,” he said.

Protecting water and soil, he added, is also a way of creating wealth.

Stressing a nature-first approach to development, Naidu said the principle of giving priority to nature, which his government was promoting through zero-budget natural farming in agriculture, should also be applied to urban development. “Andhra Pradesh would play a key role in the national goal of achieving 500gw of non-fossil power capacity by 2030. The state is planning around 165gw of renewable energy capacity,” he said.

Naidu said Amaravati was being developed as an environment-friendly city. Recalling that he had developed Cyberabad when Andhra Pradesh was undivided, he said he had now been given another opportunity to build another good city. Amaravati was being designed as a city suited to future generations by combining nature, technology and modern infrastructure, he said.

The Chief Minister congratulated Raghuveer Veeramachaneni, Praveen Kumar, the Vista Spaces team and representatives of Venkataramanan Associates for designing the project with an emphasis on future requirements and environmental protection.