Opting for eco-housing may soon prove rewarding. A highly-placed source in Mantralaya told TOI, “Those going for green buildings will get incentives in the form of lower property tax. Those who do not fall in line will have to pay more.”
The government also plans to extend the tax benefit for existing buildings. “A timeline for retro-fitting will be provided,” the source said. The only catch here is that the slab for property tax reduction will be decided by the local body—say, the BMC in case of Mumbai.
At most of his public meetings, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who handles urban development, has underlined the need for “optimal utilization of natural resources”. The source added that Chavan had set a June deadline for a cabinet decision on the issue.
In 2009, the state government had issued a government resolution allowing local self-governments such as the BMC to provide incentives to those who participate in eco-housing. The BMC, however, has yet to announce any incentives although it was the first to prepare an eco-housing plan in 2007. Civic sources said providing the incentive required amending the BMC Act and they had been following it up with the state government. “It has yet to approve the proposal,” officials said.
Sometime ago, Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had announced that buildings with a LEEDS certification would not need clearance from the MoEF. All buildings with an area of two lakh sq feet and above need environmental clearance. The state environment department has already sent a draft notification on the issue to the Centre and is awaiting its approval. “Once the go-ahead comes, we will issue a notification for objections and suggestions,” said an official from the environment department.
The BMC’s eco-housing plan goes a step beyond and makes its mandatory for the builder to preserve the top soil removed during excavation and use it for tree planting, protect the bio-diversity of the area and decentralize organic waste management. For redevelopment projects, a recycling and reuse plan for 70% of the debris is mandatory.
