Environmental rules in building sector stressed

Visakhapatnam: A workshop was held on effective implementation of environmental conditions in Andhra Pradesh Building Rules 2017.

It was jointly organised by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi based public interest non-profit organisation and Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB)here on Tuesday.

CSE is supporting APPCB to take lead in strict environment management in the state. The two institutions have worked on integration of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification with the AP Building Rules.

The state has about 100 urban local bodies. The workshop is first of a three-series regional training programme to sensitise regulators and urban local bodies on enforcement of the environmental conditions in Andhra Pradesh Building Rules.

N V Bhaskara Rao, Joint Chief Environmental Engineer, Zonal Office APPCB, Visakhapatnam highlighted the significance of environment rules and regulations and insisted all the officers to prioritise in their practice.

Doctor A Hemanth, Chief Medical Officer of Health, “Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is working extensively on scientific waste management” – he added.

Several ongoing initiatives such as segregation of solid waste, maximising use of plastic in road construction, setting up of biogas plants, on-site treatment of 60-70 per cent organic waste into compost, commissioning of automatic waste compacter systems, development of a waste-to-energy plant to process non-recyclable waste, etc. were discussed.

About 20 lakh million tonnes of solid waste has been estimated and will be managed in a scientific manner. Rajneesh Sareen, Programme Director, CSE explained about environmental governance in construction sector.

“States need to start preparing stringent building codes for energy efficiency, water management, sustainable materials and waste management” he pointed.