�Green� is the happening mantra in Ahmedabad buildings

Real estate developers are becoming conscious about the environment and are promoting 'green buildings'.

In India and across the globe, the 'green building' movement will lead the way in developing environment friendly homes and Gujarat is not lagging behind.

Registration of green buildings in the state is on the rise and in this respect, the Gujarat Institute of Civil Engineers and Architects (GICEA) organised a symposium, 'Beyond Copenhagen: Voice of the Community,' as part of Nirman 2010.

"The movement is all about getting back what we have lost," Dr Prem Jain, chairman of Indian Green Building Council, Noida said. The world over the focus is on constructing environmental friendly buildings and the concept is spreading across various countries, said Jain.

Green buildings will go a long way in addressing national priorities such as water conservation, energy efficiency etc, he added.

Sameer Sinha, chairman of Indian Green Building Council (Gujarat), said that demand for green buildings in Gujarat is increasing. A couple of years ago there were only one or two registered green buildings in the state. This has now reached 35, out of which around a dozen are in Ahmedabad."Majority of the buildings are under construction and will get certification in a couple of months," he said.

The availability of green material has increased in the last two years, reducing the cost difference between green and normal buildings. "Earlier, the difference was around 15%, which has now come down to only 5% because of reducing cost of green material and increased availability," said Sinha.

The Gujarat chapter of IGBC has also conducted various educational programmes in schools and colleges to create awareness about the green building concept. Bob Van Bebber, director of Boogertmen & Partners from South Africa said, "I believe that the concept, its story and execution is very important in creating anything revolutionary. India has a great road ahead in terms of this movement."