LED bulbs a must for new buildings in Maharashtra

In a major move to conserve electricity using energy-efficient technology, Maharashtra government has mandated that all upcoming buildings in the state, be it a residential, commercial or industrial, will have to be fitted with energy-saver LED bulbs only.

To ensure the compliance, a clause will be added in the Development Control Rules (DCR) of municipal corporations and other civic bodies. This means no tungston bulbs or tubelights will be allowed in any new establishments henceforth in Maharashtra.

The rules defined as "Energy Conervation Building Code" are part of the "Energy Conversation policy 2016" of the government approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.

"Green buildings" will be offered incentives in taxes or in the form of FSI.

Inclusion of the said clause in the DCR effectively means the compliance of norms would be must to get the occupation certificate, says an official. The policy also talks about encouraging existing buildings to replace old bulbs and tubelights with the LED.

For a big push, the government also announced to replace bulbs and tubes with LEDs in all government, semi-government, municipal offices and street lights (with sunlight sensor switches to cut the wastage further) street lights to bring down the energy consumption. The government will spend Rs 840 crore to implement over 35 measures with a hope to save Rs 6,000 crore.

An LED bulb costs around Rs 400 but saves around 30 per cent energy. It has a long life, nearly 50 times more than the ordinary bulbs.

ENERGY AUDITS

• The policy mandates energy audit for malls, mulitplexes, commercial, industrial, government
   
• More than 5 lakh small and medium enterprises will also be encouraged to use energy-efficent devices.