Make Way For Green Habitat As Kerala Takes Another Big Step Under Their Swachh Abhiyan – Haritha Keralam

New Delhi: To give Haritha Keralam (Green Kerala) Mission a push, Kerala government has decided to move over existing conventional mode of construction and opt for eco-friendly and re-usable building materials. The Kerala government is now planning to promote the concept of green habitat under which a sustainable architecture practice would be promoted. Along with ditching conventional constructional material, the green habitat aims to lay thrust on natural water storage and solid waste management. According to official sources, the government has initiated a first round of discussions with various experts and stakeholders.

The buildings to be built under the concept of green habitat are designed in a way that maximises use of natural sunlight and wind and minimise the use of electricity. In order to maximise the use of solar energy and reduce the dependency on electricity, solar power plants will be installed on roofs.

For natural water storage, rainwater harvesting would be one of the must have features of green building. Kitchen and drainage water would be recycled and reused for other household purposes, a top Mission official said.

Waste water, especially the kitchen and toilet water, can be recycled and reused for watering plants in individual houses and flat complexes, says Vice Chairman and CEO of Haritha Keralam Mission, T N Seema.

Also Read: Kerala To Switch Over To Gas-operated Crematoriums

The reason behind shedding unscientific construction practices is not only the danger posed by these, but also the scarcity of conventional building material, says Ms Seema.

Currently, the programme is only at the concept level and discussions are going on.

Our objective is to introduce maximum eco-friendly and reusable materials in the construction. For example, bamboo can be used for construction. But, its usage is not common in our state, Ms. Seema told PTI.

Talking about the implementation of the green habitat concept, Ms Seema said that it cannot be implemented through laws alone.

Laws and legislation alone are not enough to implement the green habitat concept. A thorough grassroot level campaign is a must to create awareness about this among public and inculcate a green culture among them, Ms Seema said.

Besides individual houses and flat complexes and other buildings, efforts would be made to bring in government offices under the green habitat initiative, an official added.

Haritha Keralam or Green Kerala Mission is a programme run by government with the support of state-run Suchitwa Mission to make Kerala green and clean. This is not the first step taken under Green Kerala Mission. Earlier, green weddings concept was implemented where usage of plastic, disposable glasses, plates, thermocol decorations were prohibited in the wedding. The idea of green weddings went so big that a village in Kannur district decided to give marriage certificate only if green protocol is followed during the wedding.

Also Read: No Marriage Certificates Will Be Granted If Found Guilty Of Using Plastic Plates During Wedding In This Village Of Kerala

Along with this, Kerala restricted the use of plastic in all government offices. The green protocol movement also got support from hotels and schools. The hotels in the state have stopped the use of plastic straws, and schools have made it mandatory for students to use fountain pens and not plastic pens.

Kerala is not only focusing on going green and adopting eco-friendly ways, but it has carved its niche in waste management also. In a recent report titled ‘Solid Approach To Waste: How 5 Cities Are Beating Pollution’, Kerala’s Alappuzha was among the top five cities in the world. Kerala is also home to the first plastic free district- Kannur.

Also Read: United Nations Lauds The Way Kerala’s Alappuzha Manages Its Waste And Does Away With Landfill

Also, Kerala is the third state to have achieved open defecation free (ODF) status and is continuously making efforts to retain and live upto its ODF tag. With each passing day, Kerala is taking its Swachh game a step higher.

With inputs from PTI