Housing societies must go green or pay higher tax

Housing societies, five star hotels, educational and medical institutions and commercial towers will all have to soon adopt environmental friendly measures or pay additional property tax.

A Maharashtra government proposal, which is on the anvil, outlines five eco-housing criteria for all new and existing buildings over 3,000 sq m: rainwater harvesting, grey water recycling, solar water heating, energy-efficient heating, lighting and air conditioning and minimum disturbance to the topsoil during construction.

Once a government resolution is issued, all existing buildings will be given a timeframe of six months (for solar heating and energy efficient measures) to three years (for water harvesting and recycling). If they fail, housing society members and owners of other kinds of buildings will be slapped higher property taxes.

For new constructions, the Development Control rules will be amended to make these measures compulsory for getting building permission. The rules would be applicable to all cities of Maharashtra.