Green buildings: State to ink pact with TERI soon

Eco-friendly: Principal Secretary (energy, CRDA and infrastructure and investment) Ajay Jain addressing the media in Vijayawada on Monday.

The State government will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to facilitate implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC). TERI will help AP-Capital Region Development Authority (AP-CRDA) and Amaravati Development Corporation Limited (ADCL) in the construction of green buildings. The partnership is intended to have green buildings across the capital city, both government buildings and private ones.

It was agreed by the TERI during the detailed discussions held here on Monday to start lending its expertise from July 1 through a four-member team which will be operating from the ECBC cell at CRDA office.

Announcing this at a press conference, Principal Secretary (Energy, CRDA and Infrastructure and Investment) Ajay Jain said the government’s endeavour was to have all energy-efficient buildings in Amaravati.

The new buildings would be so designed to make the best use of water, consume less energy and meet other specifications. As far as the existing buildings were concerned, retrofitting has to be done but that comes at a later stage.

Modalities

Modalities for implementing the ECBC were being worked out and they might be finalised before this month-end, he added.

ADCL Chairperson D. Lakshmi Parthasarathy and State Energy Conservation Mission CEO A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy were present.

TERI senior director (sustainable habitat) Sanjay Seth said his institute had partnered in the construction of about 150 green buildings in the country and it would depute four specialists in green building architecture, energy conservation and environment and water management to help the CRDA and ADCL realise the government’s vision to have green buildings in the capital city and expand to other parts of the State in the due course.

CRDA Commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar said TERI has offered technical assistance in transforming Amaravati into a sustainable city from site–planning stage to implementing energy efficiency measures in the buildings. The TERI’s four-member team would make recommendations on building plan approvals to the CRDA planners, who would be given the necessary training in taking the project forward.