Tax Payers’ Association (TPA) secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu has said that the amendments made to the Andhra Pradesh Building Rules, 2012 were going to badly affect the common people by causing a steep rise in the cost of construction of buildings.
The State government has issued G.O 33 on February 23 to implement the model byelaws on green buildings framed by the Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoUDHPA) without assessing the burden that it would impose on the middle and lower income groups.
The new rules stipulated that 75 per cent of the exposed roof areas of all new residential / commercial / institutional / industrial plots should be developed with high reflective materials or vegetation or a combination of them and all buildings should install solar water heating systems which shall cater to the 50 per cent of their domestic requirement.
The amended rules also envisaged provision of rainwater harvesting systems that will capture at least one-day rainfall runoff volume from roof and non-roof areas and development of all new residential / commercial / institutional / industrial buildings with built-up areas exceeding 2,000 square meters as ‘green buildings’.
Mr. Anjaneyulu stated that the new rules would impose enormous burden on the people who were already saddled with exorbitant rates of taxation and spiralling inflation.
The government should, therefore, withdraw the rules in the right earnest, he said.
It was in consultation with the Indian Green Building Council that the MoUDHPA brought the model byelaws and the A.P Directorate of Town and Country Planning has brought the suggested amendments to the A.P Building Rules, 2012 without pondering over their financial implications.
The model byelaws on green buildings will burn holes in common man’s pocket, says
TPA secretary
