Policy Intervention and Legislative Framework Relating to the Sustainability of Built Structures in India
Abstract
If not coupled with effective urbanization and utmost planning for crucial and optimum resource utilization, sustainable development becomes a fiction. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have been a key source of concern for the environment's consistent deterioration. With the presence of evident impediments, there is already a conscious limit on industrial growth in place. However, urbanization cannot be fully stifled in order to foster green movement, and vice versa. Among the many efforts made by the Indian government to improve energy efficiency and the sustainability of the built environment, the desire to incorporate important market players, along with legislative incentives, has begun to make a difference. The primary actors have been divided over the choice of ratings since the introduction of GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), IGBC (Indian Green Building Council), and BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency), offering a bewildered outlook with the many regulatory indexes and perimeters. The policies/ratings/mechanisms in place in many states to maintain the energy efficiency of the built environment are incompatible, resulting in a significant margin of error. For efficient implementation of these policies, the involvement of adequately empowered local entities becomes critical. This cannot be done without first examining the influence of current regulations and frameworks on the energy usage and functioning of the built environment, which includes both residential and commercial structures.
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