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Sustainable development
through Green Homes is a
pioneering step towards
environment conservation,
Union Minister of State for Urban
Development Prof. Saugata Roy
said while inaugurating CII's
National Conference on Green
Homes in New Delhi recently.
S. Raghupathy, Senior Director
& Head, CII-Sohrabji Godrej
Green Business Centre, disclosed
that as many as 1.20 lakh green
homes were coming up in India.
Prof. Roy said that the National
Housing & Habitat Policy of
India 2007 emphasised the
development of alternate and
novel construction materials.
"Using local raw materials helps
towards a better and renewable
environment," he said.
The minister emphasised that
green homes were the need of the
hour as they resulted in energy
efficiency of 40 per cent, water
savings of 30 per cent and ensure
optimal utilisation of daylighting.
He also also appreciated IGBC's
(Indian Green Building Council)
initiatives to promote green building
concepts in the country.
Dr. Prem Jain, Chairman, Indian
Green Building Council, said that
the 21st century green building
movement started with CIIGodrej
Green Business Centre,
the country's first Platinum rated
green building with a footprint of
20,000 sq. ft.
At present, India has over 680
green buildings with a footprint of
over 450 million sq. ft and ranks
amongst the top countries in
green buildings. IGBC rating systems
encourage usage of traditional,
simple and holistic green
principles to maximise daylighting
and enhance ventilation.
Raghupathy mentioned that a
variety of government buildings
are certified and registered with
IGBC, which include Tamil
Nadu Legislative Assembly
building, Hyderabad Urban
Development Authority building,
Police Bhavan-Gulbarga,
MEA and MoEF in Delhi, and
Delhi Airport, to name a few.
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