It is noteworthy that the government in Goa is attempting to protect the environment and therefore improve the quality of life of Goans by promoting Green Buildings. The Minister for Town and Country Planning Vijai Sardesaii recently stated that, beginning 2019, all projects excluding individual residential projects will be compulsorily Green Buildings.
Though the intentions are commendable one is not sure whether these will be implementable from Jan 1, 2019. In his statement the minister said that the ‘Town and Country Planning Department is in consultation with Indian Green Buildings Council (IGBC) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to have a Green Building code for Goa.’ No deadline was given for these consultations to fructify into something concrete.
What codes are the builders supposed to comply with when they begin construction on New Years day? On what Green Building codes will plans be submitted, accepted, approved or rejected from Jan 1, 2019? Are Goan architects and builders being invited for these consultations?
Another stumbling block is the desire to create a Goa specific Green Building code. There are already two codes developed. There is the The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), 2007. The code is mandated by the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. Simulation exercises have found that buildings which are ECBC compliant consume 40-60% less energy than regular buildings.
The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy brought out the National Rating System for Green Buildings. This is known as the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment or GRIHA for short.
As per a Ministry of New and Renewable Energy document, GRIHA is a “Green Building ‘design evaluation system’– A tool to design, operate, evaluate and maintain resource efficient ‘healthy’ and ‘intelligent’ building.” GRIHA has been conceptualised and developed by The Energy Research Institute with the support of the MNRE, it caters to different climatic conditions of the country.
It is important to note that though GRIHA was TERI’s brainchild, it’s current avatar is based on numerous consultations. GRIHA incorporates ‘provisions of the National Building Code 2005, the Energy Conservation Building Code 2007 announced by BEE and other IS codes, local bye-laws, other local standards and laws.’
As this code is to help ‘design and evaluate’ new buildings, it has a cradle to grave philosophy. Thus, it looks at the pre-construction stage and site issues; including impacts on soil, flora and fauna; then the planning and building stage. At this juncture, issues of resource conservation, reduction, reuse, recovery, efficiency and occupant, including worker, health and well-being are considered. Finally there is the building operation and maintenance stage. Here, issues revolving around system operation and maintenance, impact on local and global environment and well being of occupants and workers are checked.
One cannot ignore the fact that a Green Building code does not stop at the environment but incorporates the well being of the community as a whole. Issues of waste and water management are as important as consumption of energy and use of environmentally friendly materials and processes.
There have been umpteen reasons for Goan’s to protest. The changing of the CRZ, lopping of trees, acquisition of land for large projects, air pollution are some of the causes that the people of this state have raised their voice against. One cannot ignore the impact that the construction industry is having on Goan’s and their environment.
By deciding to ensure all future constructions fall in Green Building category the Government of Goa is taking a bold leap forward. However, it seems that they are trying to ensure no feathers are ruffled. On what aspects of this ‘Goa specific standards’ is the government conferring with TERI on? GRIHA already has taken India’s climatic variations into consideration? How does the government expect the builders to comply with these new regulations when there is no transparency on the consultation. Also various stakeholders don’t seem to have been invited for discussions nor any deadline given as to its notification.
It would be shame if the government has set this up for failure.
GRIHA has gone through the churn and has been developed through wide ranging consultations with various stakeholders and the incorporation of local laws. Instead of wasting time in re-inventing the wheel, the Government of Goa should accept GRIHA and work within it. This will ensure that those associated with the construction industry in Goa have experts they can tap into across the country.
To date the GRIHA footprint is spread over 70 million sqft only. Given that only 1200 projects are registered under GRIHA, this is a drop in the ocean. However, the Goa government with it’s visionary outlook for Green Buildings has the opportunity to influence other state governments.
Goa deserves the promulgation of a Green Building code. This will have a ripple effect on the economy, society and the environment. Instead of unnecessarily spending time time on Goa specific building codes, the Government of Goa should be holding workshops for builders in Goa on GRIHA to bring them upto-speed on this existing system. This will ensure that the builders can hit the ground running on the 1st of January 2019.
(Samir Nazareth has worked in the Development sector and is the author of the travelogue 1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 million people. He tweets at @samirwrites)
