Development of Solar Cities *Smt. Kalpana Palkhiwala*

In India, several cities and towns are experiencing 15% growth in the peak electricity demand. This rapid rise in demand has resulted in most of the cities and towns are facing severe electricity shortages. Thus managing energy demand has emerged as a priority for the local governments and Municipal Corporations. An action plan, therefore, needs to be developed which would lead to reduction in conventional energy consumption, besides reducing enormous amount of CO2 emission in the atmosphere by way of using energy conservation and renewable energy devices and systems.
Accordingly, a programme on ¡¥Development of solar cities¡¨ has been developed to promote the use of Renewable Energy in Urban Areas by providing support to the Municipal Corporations for preparation and implementation of a Road Map to develop their cities as Solar Cities. Objectives

The objectives of the programme are to enable Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to address energy challenges at City level; to provide framework and support to ULBs to prepare a Master Plan including assessment of current energy situation, future demand and action plans; to build capacity in ULBs and create awareness among all sections of civil society; to involve various stakeholders in the planning process; and to oversee the implementation of sustainable energy options through public - private partnerships.

Physical Targets

A total of 60 cities are proposed to be developed as ¡§Solar Cities¡¨ during the 11th Plan period. At least one city in each State to a maximum of five cities in a State will be supported by the Ministry. The cities included in the program will have more than 5 lakh and less than 50 lakh population.

Major activities The Programme has been designed to address challenges in delivering sustainable energy at city level through Preparation of a Master Plan within a period of one year from the date of sanctioning by the Ministry. The Master Plan prepared as per the indicative guidelines would provide total and sector-wise projections for energy demand and supply for next ten years. Further, it would provide a complete sector-wise base-line on energy utilization and GHG emissions in the city. Year-wise targets for energy conservation, renewable energy addition and GHG abatement along with the action plan for implementation will be clearly brought out in the Master Plan. Potential sources of funding from respective organizations (both public and private) for providing financial support will be identified. Before finalization, the draft Master Plan would be discussed in a Stakeholders Consultation Workshop having representation from elected representatives, local research and academic institutions, resident welfare associations, industries and corporate organizations, NGOs, SNA, etc. The Master Plan will have a minimum target of reduction in their energy consumption by 10% from the existing level and consequent reduction in CO2 emissions.

The programme will also include setting up of ¡§Solar City Cell¡¨ in the City Council which will have Senior Administrator and City Engineers for planning and implementation. A ¡§Solar City Stakeholders Committee¡¨ will be set up for advisory support involving representation from elected representatives in the municipal bodies, local research and academic institutions, resident welfare associations, industries and corporate organizations, NGOs, State Nodal Agencies and other relevant stakeholder. Organizing training programmes/ workshops/ business meets/ awareness camps etc. for various stakeholders such as elected representatives of the municipal bodies, municipal officials, architects/engineers, builders and developers, financial institutions, NGOs, technical institutions, manufactures and suppliers, RWAs etc. and visits/ study tours within India; Preparation of proposals for carbon financing and organizing publicity and awareness campaign through print & electronic media, would also be a part of the programme. Financial Provisions The Financial Provisions would be up to Rs. 50 Lakhs per city or town depending upon population and initiatives decided to be taken by the City Council/Administration: „« Up to Rs 10 lakhs for preparation of a Master Plan within a year „« Up to Rs. 10 lakhs for oversight of implementation during five years „« Up to Rs.10 lakhs for setting up of Solar Cell and its functioning for a period of five years. „« Remaining amount of Rs. 20 lakhs to be utilized in five years for other promotional activities. Capital/interest subsidies would be provided to the users for installation of various renewable energy devices as per the provisions of various schemes of the Ministry. Support for various other activities will also be provided as per the scheme provisions. Priority for support will be given to cities identified as potential Solar Cities. These cities will be considered as priority cities by the Ministry, IREDA and other implementing institutions for promoting the use of renewable energy devices/systems. SNAs may also request the Ministry to allocate higher targets for installation of various renewable energy devices/systems in these cities under its different schemes through subsidies. Criteria for selection of cities The programme encourages cities with high level of commitment and leadership quality. MNRE will consider the following while selection of cities: City Population, regional setting and prominence in region; Political and administrative commitment towards adoption of sustainable energies (Resolution to be passed by the City Council/Administration for implementing all the activities specified in the ¡¥Solar cities¡¦ programme); Regulatory measures taken on adoption of energy conservation and renewable energy; Potential for adoption of energy conservation and renewable energy in the city activities; Initiatives already taken by City Council/Administration/ Private Developers/ Industry/ General Public in promoting energy conservation and renewable energy; Urban Local Bodies¡¦ previous experience in involving public participation and working with all stakeholders; and Willingness to provide resources and sustenance of activities initiated under the programme. Submission of Proposals & release of funds Proposals as per the prescribed format will be submitted by the City Council/ Administration through State Nodal Agency. The proposals will be examined in the Ministry based on which 50% of the CFA recommended by an independent panel constituted for advice and guidance on implementation of the scheme will be released on sanctioned projects and rest on progressive achievements and utilization of funds released. Institution of Awards Annual awards to identified Solar Cities will be given in the form of Shields/ Certificates based on the information provided by City Council/Administration in regard to initiatives taken on developing their city as Solar City. Model Solar Cities To set an example for other cities to be developed as Solar Cities, the Ministry would develop two cities as Model Solar Cities. Financial support up to a maximum Rs.9.50 crore will be given to each of these Model Solar Cities for implementation of the Master Plan developed under the scheme from the Ministry. The support will be on 50% cost sharing basis from respective Municipal Corporation/City Administration/State Government. Release will be made after the city identified for development as Model Solar City submits its Master Plan for which a separate support is available under the scheme as per above. As the total funds of Rs. 19 cores (MNRE support of Rs. 9.50 crore & the matching grant from Municipal Corporation/City Administration/State Government) for developing a city as Model Solar City may not be sufficient, the city, in addition to this grant will be eligible to draw separate support for installation of renewable energy systems from various ongoing schemes of the Ministry wherein the present restriction on the number/ capacity of renewable energy systems/devices being supported in a city, if any, may not be applicable.
Courtesy: Press Information Bureau, New Delhi

REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR ALL

Provision of affordable housing is one of the most formidable challenges that India currently faces. The 11^th Five Year Plan estimates the urban housing shortage at the commencement of Plan period at 24.7 million units, with 99% of this shortage pertaining to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Lower Income Groups (LIG).  Taking these into account,  Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation had set up a High Level Task Force on the 15th January, 2008 to look into the various aspects of providing Affordable Housing for All under the Chairmanship of Mr. Deepak Parekh, Chairman – HDFC Ltd. to submit a report on the following issues:-

1.       Developing innovative financial instruments for bringing flexibility in the housing market and examining various fiscal and spatial incentives for increasing supply of houses to economically weaker sections and Low Income families.

2.       Affordability of all categories including the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and Middle Income Groups (MIG) in terms of their income and consequent paying capability as well as other factors; recommending ways and means of enhancing accessibility of EWS/LIG groups to housing with suitable governmental support; and Recommending ways and means of enhancing accessibility of MIG groups to housing.

3.       Examining the framework of Regional Planning and Master Planning with a view to enhancing the supply of developed land and recommending legislative measures for accelerating the supply of housing units for the urban poor.

4.       Recommending measures for promotion of low cost building technologies;

5.       Suggesting steps for enhancing the supply of rental housing;

6.       Assisting the Ministry in devising an integrated strategy for in-situ slum upgradation with a view to improving the quality of habitat as well as providing the urban poor with places to work and sell; and

7.       Advising the Ministry about various types of programme initiatives with the aim of achieving the goal of “Affordable Housing for All”.

Shri Deepak Parekh, Chairman of the Task Force presented the report to Kumari Selja, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation today. A presentation on the recommendations was made before Minister, which was attended by Ms. Kiran Dhingra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Shri S.K. Singh, Joint Secretary (Housing), Dr. P.K. Mohanty, Mission Director (JNNURM) and Prof. OP Mathur.

            The Minister informed that Ministry will examine the recommendations made by the Task Force and take a view in the matter.

Recommendations of the Task Force

The Task Force has strongly recommended the need for ‘Affordable Housing’ and mentioned that delay in addressing the affordable housing problem would seriously affect India’s economic growth and poverty reduction strategies. The Task Force notes that housing is central to economic growth and has multiplier effects on employment, poverty reduction etc. The Task Force estimates that alleviating the urban housing shortage could potentially raise the rate of growth of GDP by at least 1-1.5 percent and have a decisive impact on improving the basic quality of life.

Some of the specific recommendation of the Task Force are:-

Affordable Housing

·         “Affordable Housing” be put at the centre of public policy.

·         Any attempt to fix a definition of affordable housing for a country as large and diverse as India, using the concept of “one-size-fits-all” is counter-productive. However, the Task Force
has suggested the following parameters for the purpose

 

 

 

 

 

The Task Force visualises the size of the household as five members.                            

·         Government to may undertake a separate exercise to estimate the number of households on the basis of above.

·         Data on housing starts and completions at the national and state level be made readily available and may be collected through an institutional structure.

 

Land for Affordable Housing

·         Additional lands may be brought into urban usage on a regular basis by:

·         Simplifying procedures and processes for land acquisition and conversion of agricultural lands for urban use.

·         Reviewing the processes of Master Planning and effecting such changes as are necessary for making a proper assessment of land requirements and allocation of such lands for different uses, including lands for affordable housing. 

·         Treat affordable housing as a ‘public purpose.’

·         Upward revision in the FAR/FSI, across cities of different sizes commensurate with investment in infrastructure that it will necessitate.

·         Develop detailed critical space plans, which incorporate infrastructure intensive cluster development.

·         Impose an impact fee on those benefiting from higher FAR/FSI.

·         In-situ development on public lands for addressing affordable housing issues in partnership with the Government.

·         ‘Security of tenure’ be recognised as an important and integral tool for relieving pressures on the housing market. This may undertaken through regularisation of settlements, community or cooperative ownership, security via lease, use rights, which enables in-situ development to take place.

·         The recommendations on land related issues i.e. bringing in additional lands, upward revision in the FAR/FSI and in-situ development have to be implemented in an integrated manner.

·         Improve the speed of transactions through cadastrals, computerised land records and application of e-governance to land transactions.

·         Commission a professional study, to examine the range of issues covering urban land and recommend a comprehensive, long-term urban land policy. Given the environmental concerns, “sustainable” methodologies need to be developed.

·         Need to foster an environment that would make rental housing for EWS/LIG categories a worthwhile activity to invest in.

 

Fiscal and Financial Framework

·         Increase JNNURM funds for affordable housing by 100 percent and a part of the funds be used for direct provisioning of housing for poor urban households.

·         A part of the funds be also used as supplements for in-situ development to be routed through the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs).

·         A cess of 0.5 percent on all central government taxes be credited to a dedicated Shelter Fund, to be managed by the National Housing Bank, with a budgetary support of equal amount, so as to make a long-term impact on affordable housing.

·         Permit housing finance institutions (HFIs) to access long-term External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) market, since the HFIs require long-term funding sources at the lowest cost possible to pass on to the ultimate borrowers.

·         Role of State Housing Boards be revamped and the Boards be encouraged to focus on playing a more active role in the provision of affordable housing, even if it is through public private partnerships.

·         Funds raised through the sale of land transactions by State Housing Boards must be ring fenced, with a defined proportion to be redeployed only for affordable housing.

·         Modifications in Income Tax Act for HFCs and developers engaged in affordable housing projects.

·         Reduction in stamp duty rates and registration fee for affordable housing to 2% ad valorem uniformly in all states.

·         Levy a flat charge of Rs. 1,000 on registration of equitable mortgages.

·         Bring “affordable housing” under the infrastructure definition.

·         Establish a housing finance company focusing only on housing micro-finance loans.

·         Promote household savings in the informal sector

Technology for Cost Effectiveness

·         A low-rise high-density built form is recommend as an appropriate measure for upgrading, redevelopment or construction of housing projects for the lower income groups.

Institutional Framework

·         The real estate should be regulated through a regulator and pending the legislative process for having real estate regulators in place in the States, consideration should be given to set up Ombudsman type bodies at the State level. 

·         The role of the housing and real estate Ombudsman would be to monitor JNNURM housing projects, ensure that proper appraisals are being done, collect relevant data, identify beneficiaries for JNNURM housing projects and address consumer grievances.

·          

********

AVC/MRS

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Behind the glitz of ‘green’ buildings - The Hindu story

The green concept has to be developed for local contexts so that they can be applied within the parameters determined by local financial needs, writes Ananth Krishnan

Green homes and buildings are increasingly in vogue in neighbourhoods and corporate circles around the world. Industry experts say that they can help save on energy and maintenance costs in homes and offices.

However, they are yet to become widely popular in the country. High input costs, particularly with regard to green buildings, continue to deter Indian consumers, and eco-friendly appliances remain available only in relatively small quantities in the market. Indian arc hitects too remain divided on both the necessity and the economic feasibility of the idea.

Saving resources

Green homes are designed to be efficient in energy and water consumption, right from the outer design shell of the home to the use of eco-friendly appliances such as Compact Fluorescent Lamps ( CFL) and solar water heaters to replace their energy-guzzling alternatives (see graphic). Green homes are also designed to incorporate systems such as rainwater harvesting and waste management. Harsha Sridhar, chief anchor (design and architecture), Biodiversity Conservation (India), says that the concept brings benefits to not just homeowners and developers, but to conservationists as well.

Sridhar believes that green homes will allow homeowners to significantly save on electricity and water, even generate less waste. Developers will have lower construction costs as a result of greater efficiency in material use, as well as lower recurring maintenance costs.

“Studies show that a home that is fitted with CFL lamps, solar water heaters and recycling facilities will save around Rs. 2.56 lakh over six years, or around Rs. 3,500 a month,” says Sridhar. “Solar water heaters alone will save around Rs. 71,000 over six years. But going green is not just about costs. It is about using resources more wisely, as well as a shift in the professional attitude of architects, managers, corporates as well as everybody else.”

The same idea applies to larger buildings as well – the green mantra is becoming increasingly popular in corporate circles. Architect Sharukh Mistry is the chairman of the Bangalore chapter of the Indian Green Building Council, an organisation set up by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Mistry says that a change in the way both architects and their clients envisage their homes and buildings is needed for the green concept to really catch on. He believes that to a certain extent this is already happening.

“When multinational companies started coming in, their initial directive to architects was to build the same structures they were used to elsewhere, such as tall glass buildings,” Mistry says. “I think the companies are increasingly realising the importance of the local connections that they can build.”
Non-issue in India

Industry lobby groups such as the CII have been trying to propagate the green building idea for Indian businesses, in part because multinational companies are increasingly valuing buildings with high green ratings.

Architect P.T. Krishnan says that a lot of the green concepts propagated by Indian industry are predicated on Western needs, and hence do not make much sense in India.
“The whole green building idea starts from a platform that assumes buildings are energy intensive and completely dependent on power,” says Krishnan . “In the tropics we have a different tradition of building, where we allow natural light and ventilation. But we’ve lost our way in architecture, as we have blindly absorbed Western standards.”

Mr. Krishnan says that Indian architects, as well as corporates, have been taken in by the “glitz” of glass, which does not make either environmental or architectural sense in India where sunlight is not scarce.
“We used to illuminate office buildings with 120 lux bulbs, but we then brought in 300 lux bulbs that consume more energy just because they are being used in the U.S.,” Krishnan points out. “So, now we have to spend a lot more money [on eco-friendly appliances to save on energy costs] to rectify what we have wrongly brought in. The justification is that the technology will pay us back in three or four years. But we have to ask why we incur these costs in the first place.”

Architect Prashant Hedao says that if eco-friendly products are brought into the mainstream and if sustainable technologies are subsidised, the concept will become more economically feasible.

“People do not realise that by using a solar water heater instead of a geyser, they will recover their installation costs in two to three years,” Mr. Hedao says. “After that, they will actually be making a profit. For instance, purchasing costs for CFLs are more expensive than other lamps, but over a course of time they will save energy.”

With the higher costs involved – according to the CII, buildings with the highest green rating of ‘Platinum’ will cost 30 per cent more than a normal building – the green building concept remains limited to a very narrow, wealthy spectrum of society.

“The green building concepts apply to offices and IT buildings alone,” Krishnan confirms. “So we must remember that we’re talking about a very narrow spectrum here. When we design schools and colleges, we keep in mind natural light and natural ventilation. They are not dependent on air-conditioners. So, for me, it is a non-issue in India.”

According to Puducherry-based architect Suhasini Ayer, the corporate emphasis on green appliances misses the point. “Green homes are about more than just getting appliances such as solar panels,” says Ayer .

“Even the design of the shell of the construction should take into account climatic considerations in its orientation. Most architects are taught climatic design, but in an urban area you don’t always have the opportunity to incorporate every aspect. But even within fixed parameters, climatic considerations can be taken into account.”

Sensible design

So, your homes can still be designed in ways that are environmentally friendly, without you necessarily having to turn to fancy fittings. For example, Ayer says bedrooms should be located on the northern or southern faces of homes to keep them naturally cool and away from the glare of the sun. Plumbing, on the other hand, should be installed on the western side of homes, to tap the sun’s heat and save on electrical heating.

The drive to ‘go green’ is undoubtedly welcome, as the problems of water shortage, energy crisis and climate change are seemingly here to stay. However, if the concept is to truly catch on, Indian architects and the industry need to get past the “glitz” of the idea, as Krishnan says.
The green concept has to be developed for local contexts, so that they can still be applied within the parameters determined by local and financial needs. Otherwise, ‘going green’ will be a mantra that applies to only a privileged few – and a hollow one.

http://www.hindu.com/pp/2007/10/06/stories/2007100650310100.htm