Siddhivinayak temple may soon be energy efficient

Mumbai, Aug 31 (PTI) The Indian Green Building Council(IGBC), which is spearheading the green building movement inthe country, is in talks with the trustees of city-based worldfamous Siddhivinayak Temple to make it more energy efficient. "So far, we have been focusing on government institutions,residential and commercial buildings, hotels, among others.But now we want to extend our programme even to places ofworship. In Mumbai, we are in talks with the trustees ofSiddhivinayak Temple to make it more energy efficient," IGBCChairman Prem Jain told reporters here today. IGBC certifies government institutions, IT parks, offices,residential buildings, banks, airports, convention centres,institutions, hospitals, hotels, factories, special economiczones, townships, schools, metros, among others. "Our endeavour will be to ensure that temple buildingis energy efficient. We also want proper waste managementsystem to be implemented. We are hopeful that the trusteeswill support us and in the next 6-7 months, we hope some ofour ideas will be implemented," he said. Jain also said the Badriya Masjid in Karnataka is thefirst IGBC certified green structure. "For this structure, cooling of the building has beenachieved by using elements of nature. The building orientationminimises solar heat gain, thus making it more energyefficient. We will implement similar initiatives in many suchplaces of worship across the country," he added. IGBC ‘Chair Policy and Advocacy Committee’ said, "Withseveral states offering incentives to green building projects,our rating system is evoking excellent response from thestakeholders. In days to come, IGBC will play a more importantrole in building a greener and healthier India." PTI PSK NRBAQSSSB