“Till someone informed me that I work in a green building, I was not aware of it. What difference does it make whether or nor this building is green? I am not directly affected,” said K. Xavier, a software engineer.
Most times, prospective buyers are not aware of the advantages of green buildings. But when builders and contractors explain the principles behind, they go in for eco-friendly construction. “I constructed an office-cum-residential building. But until my contractor explained about fly ash bricks and natural lighting, I did not think it was possible. Though it cost me about 10 per cent more, I did my bit for the environment,” said K. Ganesh of Jafferkhanpet.
L. Moorthi, a contractor, who has been using fly ash bricks in construction for over five years, said that more house owners are keen on fly ash bricks. “They don’t mind paying the difference in price. Most of them read up the concept on the internet and are convinced,” he said.
“Nearly 10 per cent of structures that are coming up in the city are green buildings. Probably in the next five years, there may be about 35 per cent joining this bandwagon,” said N. Nandakumar, Governing Council Member of CREDAI.
The use of fly-ash bricks or blocks in construction is an important criterion to for buildings to achieve the status of an eco-friendly building. Fly ash is generated at thermal power plants. The Ministry of Environment has made it mandatory for all builders to use fly ash in building material if the construction falls within a 100- kilometre radius of a coal or lignite-based thermal power plant. All buildings constructed by the Central Public Works Department including those in IIT Madras have been using only fly ash bricks.
“Fly ash bricks are five times stronger and also less water absorbent than clay bricks,” said S. Thirumalai, who runs a fly ash manufacturing unit.
The permitted amount of fly ash in brick is between 60 and 65 per cent. The quality of fly ash bricks are a cause of concern since an increase in the amount of fly ash means the bricks are not of first grade.
“There will be excessive wastage and a subsequent increase in cost if the builder compromises on the quality. But such things rarely happen,” said R. Kumar, Managing Director of Naveen Housing and Properties.
Compressive Strength test to check the quality of fly ash bricks are performed at institutes like IIT, Anna University and other government engineering colleges, said an engineer from the Public Works Department. Fly ash bricks are not used extensively these days. Earlier, since the price was cheaper builders preferred to use it but now the cost of fly ash bricks are almost on a par with clay bricks, he said.
Though the fly ash brick industry has been in existence for nearly a decade now, the availability of fly ash remains an issue. Manufacturers say that a quota system is in place and it is very difficult to get fly ash. “We would have the order, but not get enough channels of supply from the government on regular basis,” said S. Thirumalai.
