Maha to give a leg-up to green buildings with tax sops

Mumbai: To encourage green buildings, Maharashtra is planning to offer incentives in property tax or additional FSI (floor space index) to developers, a government official said here today."We have embarked on a plan to promote green and eco-friendly projects and have already taken steps in this direction. We will continue to support green buildings and may consider offering incentives in property taxes or additionalFSI," Maharashtra Environment Secretary Valsa Nair-Singh told the 'Green Co' summit organised by industry lobby CII here.[caption id="attachment_203214" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="The incentive policy is in its final stages. Reuters"][/caption]However, she maintained the government has not yet taken a final decision on the same. She said the state has also signed an agreement with CII and Godrej & Boyce to come up with a policy that will ensure reduction of CO2 emissions in construction."The policy is in its final stages. The government is likely to make an announcement in this regard, probably after the elections," she added.She said the government is also framing a green procurement policy, wherein goods like cement, papers and the like that it purchases, should not only be eco-friendly, but the manufacturing units from where they come should followgreen norms.Further, she said, the government is taking steps to ensure speedy clearances of projects. "Nearly 450 proposals are pending with the environment ministry. We have decided that projects with an environment dimension to it will be given preference in terms of expedited clearances and other non-financial benefits. This will encourage developers to adopt green technologies in theirprojects," she said."At present there is only one scrutinising panel, but we have decided to set up a few more panels to ensure speedy clearances. We expect that within six months, the pending proposals will be cleared," she said.PTI