Telangana has added 10 million sft green footprint since Oct 2020 but this is just the start, reports Sudipta Sengupta
A late entrant to the ‘green’ party, Telangana is fast picking up pace now to grab a seat at the toppers table. Over the last 12 months alone, the state has not only completed 10 million square feet (sft) of green building footprint but also committed to add as much as 60 million sft —higher than most others including Tamil Nadu and Delhi – in the next few years. Of this 95% is in Hyderabad.
The latest Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) data shows that 55 upcoming buildings, commercial and residential, have registered with the body between October 2020 and now to get a green certificate.
These structures, as per the rulebook, have a range of environment-friendly features – are built with locally-sourced material, have fixtures for water conservation, are low on waste generation, high on energy efficiency, among others.
This comes at a time when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report has sent alarm bells ringing the world over, with the UN terming it as ‘code red for humanity’.
“While incorporating green standards have increased our cost of construction by 4% to 5% (approx.), it is a price that even the client (homebuyers and corporates) is willing to pay now for a healthier environment,” said Shyam Rao Jupally, managing director, My Home Constructions that has multiple IGBC-certified projects.
Nationally too, India is making quick progress to multiply its green building count even as it plays catch-up with the rest of the world, experts say. In fact, Knight Frank’s recent report on green cities of the world featured six Indian cities, including Hyderabad, on the top 286. “The level of awareness in developing nations, such as ours, is still limited. But with climate change becoming a critical conversation in real estate circles, globally, we are seeing developers and buyers warming up to the idea,” said Rajani Sinha, chief economist and national director (research), Knight Frank India.
