If the sight of dilapidated official buildings in the Capital has made you shudder,you are of the same opinion as Farooq Abdullah,Minister of New and Renewable Energy. Rashtrapati Bhawan is beautiful. Its something you want to remember. But look at the buildings of other ministries near Rashtrapati Bhawan. They are hideous! Farooq said today at a national conference on Green Buildings organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and The Energy and Research Institute (TERI). Let me tell you something about government buildings. They are hideous. And they have terrible upkeep. The government also siphons huge amounts of money to make buildings. And at the same time,the government is the largest builder today, he said. A few days ago,a Cabinet decision had made it mandatory for all new buildings of the Central government and Public Sector Units to have a minimum of three-star rating on the national rating scale called GRIHA,prepared by TERI. The GRIHA rating creates energy-efficient buildings that save 30 to 40 per cent electricity. But Farooqs grouse is beyond just concerns of saving energy: its also about aesthetics. The minister said he is deeply disappointed by the government buildings,especially those in Delhi and Kashmir,despite the large budgets given to them. Look at the buildings around you. I havent seen the Commonwealth Games village,but I wonder how much they have thought about aesthetics. We have lost 60 years in India because we have not thought about making something for the eye in government buildings. A building should be functional in every sense. It should be beautiful as well as green. Money is also being siphoned in the name of making government buildings, Farooq said. A Cabinet decision by the Delhi government recently approved the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) along the same lines creating energy-efficient government buildings and ensuring all new buildings get some stars under the rating. The move is the need of the day: government buildings are currently huge energy consumers. A recent survey of 365 government buildings in Delhi found energy consumption is very high: up to 161 KW per hour per sq ft. The Delhi government had recently announced a Commonwealth Games project to retrofit old government buildings,including prominent buildings like the Vikas Minar and Delhi Secretariat. Aesthetics,however,remain another story.
