UP Govt To Give 5% Free FAR To Eco-Friendly Building Developers

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to reward developers by giving them five per cent extra floor-area ratio (FAR) for free, if they build eco-friendly buildings according to the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) and Indian Green Council building norms.

The state government will allow five per cent extra vertical construction for green building development in areas spreading more than 5,000 sq metre without any extra tax, reports The Times of India.

Under GRIHA, a system has been developed to help 'design and evaluate' new buildings. A building is assessed based on its predicted performance over its entire life cycle – inception through operation.

According to Rupesh Singh, head of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for UP, a green building is not a product but a process that looks at site selection, right designs, proper material use, energy and water efficiency and use of renewable resources, the report added.

Three stages of GRIHA system

In the pre-construction stage, intra and inter-site issues like proximity to public transport, type of soil, kind of land, where the property is located, the flora and fauna on the land before construction activity starts, the natural landscape and land features are taken into account.

In the building planning and construction stages, issues of resource conservation and reduction in resource demand, resource utilisation efficiency, resource recovery and reuse, and provisions for occupant health and well-being are evaluated. The prime resources that are considered in this section are land, water, energy, air, and green cover.

And, in the building operation and maintenance stage, issues of operation and maintenance of building systems and processes, monitoring and recording of energy consumption, and occupant health and well-being, and also issues that affect the global and local environment are evaluated.