The state has roped in developers to increase the city’s green cover and reduce pollution level. It has decided to give priority to projects which are environment friendly.
The state has roped in developers to increase the city’s green cover and reduce pollution level. It has decided to give priority to projects which are environment friendly.
“We cannot stop development or reject the housing projects. But we can take several corrective measures that can increase the city’s green cover,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
The new policy of the state environment department will benefit those developers who choose to go green.The developers will have to approach any world-recognised green building issuing agency.
The agency will issue them a green building certificate after reviewing the open spaces, rain-water harvesting system, recreational facilities, ventilation and so on. Those developers, who submit the certificate to the government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), will be given priority for approval of their projects.
“While approving the proposal, we will give preference to those who get green building certificate, said an official.
“Normally, the approval of proposals takes at least five to six months. If a developer has a green building certificate, it would be passed in a week. We will not give any concessions but increase the green cover by asking developers to follow the rules and regulations,” he added.
The decision to give priority to green projects was taken after the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) urged the state to encourage environment-friendly projects.
“We decided to frame the special concession policy because the MoEF had told us that the green construction projects applying for the environmental nod should be given out-of-turn consideration,” said another official.
To maintain and increase green cover, the state and the BMC have started rolling out some schemes such as rebate in tax and additional floor space index (FSI).
“The green building issuing certificate agencies strictly follow the environment norms. Because of it, we do not waste our machinery on whether the developer is implementing green building norms. If a developer flouts norms, then the agency will be held responsible,” the official added.
Sunil Mantri, managing director of Mantri Group, welcomed the decision. “This will give incentive to developers by getting their proposals passed in a week. Even the customers are demanding green and environment friendly houses,” he said.
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