Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), a part of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) providing green building rating programmes and certification services, has estimated that the India’s green building footprint can be the largest in the world by 2022.
IGBC Executive Director S Raghupathy said as of now with about 3600 projects built over 3.59 billion sq ft, the country’s green building footprint emerged as the second largest in the world and the trend in last three years suggest that the coverage can go up to 10 billion sq ft by 2022.
“The reason why the green building movement has been shaping up well in India is that they make good business sense. Commercial and big residential green buildings cost between 2-3 per cent more than the conventional ones. But the incremental cost can be paid back in about three years from the savings made out of energy and water,” Raghupathy said on the sidelines of a CII-hosted IGBC event.
The industry estimate also said that the energy savings from a typical green building is about 30-40 per cent. With the awareness level increasing about the multifarious benefits of such projects, the demand is on an upswing. Developers are also warming up to the concept because green homes attract more buyers than the conventional buildings do.
“As on today, the awareness level among architects, developers, corporates and individual buyers in big cities is about 70-72 per cent. Consequently, the adoption rate has also improved. But what is heartening is that the residential green buildings are dominating, commanding a share of about 60 per cent. About three years ago, green buildings contributed only 20-30 per cent,” Raghupathy added.
IGBC also feels that the general concern for a developer is that he will have to spend additional 2-3 per cent for a green project and for that he wants some incentives.
“We don’t want the government to extend financial benefits, which are already inherent in the green buildings. Favourable policies are critical to encourage developers. Many state governments are already giving the incentive of additional FAR. In fact, Rajasthan is coming up with an excellent scheme, which is being discussed with the IGBC. Shortly, the government will make an announcement,” the IGBC ED said.
Raghupathy observed that additional FAR (floor area ratio), faster clearance, lesser property tax and a reduced interest rate of around 25 basis points for the buyers of green buildings will be the right stimulus required to make green buildings a big movement in the country.
