Maharashtra To Offer Incentives To Builders Of Green Projects

According to reports, construction industry consumes over 40 per cent of the global energy and water, and generates almost 48 per cent of solid waste. To cut down on this mass consumption and promote sustainable and green-building techniques, the Maharashtra government has announced a draft green building policy. Under the new policy, the government proposes certain incentives that would benefit the developers and buyers investing in green projects. The policy will be applicable to all the upcoming projects, commercial and residential.

What is on offer?

Developers investing in a green project will be entitled to a property tax rebate for five years after they receive the occupancy certificate (OC). The rebate would be based on the green building rating of the property. On the other hand, buyers would get a 10 per cent rebate on property tax if they invest in a five-star or platinum-rated projects ─ 7.5 per cent in case of a four-star or gold-rated project and five per cent for three-star or silver-rated property.

Developers of a green building can also avail of a rebate on development charges. A platinum-rated project can get a rebate of 7.5 per cent, while a 5 per cent and 2.5 per cent rebate is offered to projects with gold and silver rating, respectively.

The projects that will be eligible for these incentives have to be certified green from authorised agencies providing green building rating.

To certify the upcoming green projects, the state government will also sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TERI-GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) and GBCI-LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).