Citizens and developers can soon look forward to earning property tax rebates by constructing eco-friendly buildings. The joint-select committee of the state government has approved the BMC's plan to offer incentives and tax rebates upto 50 percent on eco-friendly construction to achieve the goal of sustainable development.

The term "Green roof" refers to a roof that is partially or wholly covered with vegetation and soil on top of a waterproofing membrane -Proloy Bagchi

If Dubai's Burj Al-Arab hotel with its billowing sail is changing world architecture, wait till the India Tower, currently under construction on Mumbai's marine row Queen's Necklace, gets into business in 2010. At 300 m, it may not match Burj in height (321 metres) but it will stand tall for doing it the right way. It will be powered by a solar chimney, use recycled raw materials such as aluminum, steel, tiles (made of recycled glass and minerals), bamboo products, non-toxic paints, fly ash - cement (a byproduct of heating coal) and have a green roof.

Famous geologist Dr. M K Khanna said here that unsafe buildings in our country are more responsible for death than earthquake in our country. We cannot stop the earthquakes in future. But we can definitely limit the death and damage to buildings through earthquake resistant construction. Dr Khanna was addressing a workshop on disaster management organised here by the Science Centre, Gwalior in coordination with National Science and Technological Council, New Delhi.

Environmentally friendly businesses are more likely to attract and retain employees, a sustainable development expert says. Romilly Madew, chief executive officer of the Green Building Council of Australia, says in a recent survey of property owners, developers and valuers, that almost half of all respondents said the pressure to build green was coming from their tenants, and in turn, their staff.

AS THE green building movement in India gathers steam with growing numbers of real-estate developers adopting eco-friendly construction methods, it is trying to overcome a huge shortage in green-friendly industry professionals.

ALREADY acknowledged as one of the leaders in environmentally-friendly construction, India could surpass the United States within four years to become the country with the most space covered by 'green buildings', according to the agency that sets standards and certifies eco-friendly realestate development. The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), which today has about 110 million sq ft of green real estate registered with it, is targeting a nearly ten-fold increase in eco-friendly property development to a billion sq ft, the council's chairman Prem C Jain said.

Members of the public were shown how to make their homes greener as one of Channel 4's flagship programmes hosted a nine-day exhibition in London. An exhibition of eco-friendly homes was one of the core elements of this year's Grand Designs Live. Programme host Kevin McCloud got his hands dirty this year, joining a team of builders to construct an eco-friendly house in front of the cameras over the course of six days.

Many are not convinced about the certification or the manner in which it is promoted, writes K.S.Subramanian At home with nature:Essentially the concept is to be in harmony with nature with good use of cross ventilation, light and water. Chennai has the reputation of holding nearly 68 per cent of Green building space in the country. But not all are totally convinced in the manner green building concepts are promoted, verified and certified