There has been an increase of 88.7% in built up area permissions give by MCH from 2006 to 2007

And the future projections.....

Residential area to increase by 133% in next 15 years Commercial area to increase 21 times Conservation/ agriculture area to decrease by 60% consequently

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(As per 2020 HUDA Masterplan)

While this economic growth is fantastic news, issues such as power shortages, water scarcity, loss of green cover, increasing pollution, water logging during monsoons, loss of heritage buildings, loss of the unique rock formations etc compel us to step back and ask a very important question

Is the growth of the built environment in Hyderabad environmentally sustainable in its present form?

In order to answer this question, we need to understand the following

What is Sustainable Development?

What does sustainable development mean? What are the indicators of environmental sustainability, understand the present state of these indicators in the city, future projections and plans of the government and how each one of us are responsible for its present state

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

--The World Commission on Environment and Development, Brundtland Commission 1987.

Indicators of sustainable development, the present state of these indicators in Hyderabad, future projections and plans and every person’s contribution to the present state. 

The tremendous growth of the city has put immense pressure on

Energy supply Water supply Sewage disposal Storm water drainage Ecology – Flora and Fauna Local Geological Features – Unique rock formations

And causing environmental concerns on waste disposal and pollution of air, water, land and noise

And hence, these are the indicators that represent the sustainable growth of the city

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Energy- What are we heading towards?

As more and more energy-intensive buildings are constructed throughout Hyderabad, and the costs of fossil fuels continue to rise, pressures on current energy systems are increasing. Additionally, the rate of growth in energy consumption is currently outstripping the ability of any municipality to construct new energy generation facilities, whether traditional plants or large scale renewable energy facilities.

The majority of Hyderabad’s urban energy consumption is used by the building sector (45% of the total), out of which domestic sector uses the maximum (25%), followed by commercial (8%) and industrial sectors (8%). While the commercial sector uses less energy on the whole than domestic sector, the commercial sector almost 3 times more energy intensive.

Modern day building design can be blamed for the increasing energy intensity of buildings.
While Traditional/vernacular design in Hyderabad focused on

Natural cooling and ventilation Solar shading Daylighting

Modern architecture in Hyderabad is being guided by western design not suited to the existing climatic conditions with design features such as:

Glazed facades without external shading Exposed south and west facades without external shading features Placing of verandahs does not depend on wind directions Deep plan floor plates without cross ventilation Low height ceilings without ventilators No courtyards to provide cool air sinks Light weight building fabric Evaporative cooling features not included

This has resulted in a whole set of MODERN BUILDINGS that ARE ENERGY GUZZLERS
When compared to other countries, India is one of the few countries that have no regulations to mandate energy efficiency in buildings. Almost all countries in Europe, Singapore, Australia, etc have mandatory building regulations which are part of their building by laws for achieving a certain level of energy efficiency in buildings.
 
While Japan has voluntary energy rating systems, these are very well promoted and are widely used by local authorities in their building codes with high stake-holder buy-in

In Perspective

All countries have mandatory minimum standards on performance of fabric, glazing and infiltration India and Japan have voluntary energy rating systems. Very well promoted in Japan unlike in India through Widely used by local authorities in their building codes Well-incentivised through securitised loans and well publicised High stake-holder buy-in of the initiative

How is Energy Efficiency Calculated? What are Energy Figures Compared To? India Voluntary Calculation Procedure or Energy Simulation Benchmark Australia Energy Simulations Benchmark, Proposed And National Building Comparison Japan Voluntary Calculation Procedure Benchmark Singapore Calculation Procedure, Energy Simulations for Voluntary Rating only Benchmark Austria Calculation Procedure Benchmark Germany Calculation Procedure Benchmark Netherlands Calculation Procedure Benchmark Spain Calculation Procedure Benchmark Sweden Prescriptive And Calculation Procedure (fabric only) Benchmark United Kingdom Calculation Procedure, Energy Simulation Proposed and National Building Comparison

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Implementation of voluntary national and state-level energy policies and codes is very limited in Hyderabad, and very few builders are incorporating energy efficient technologies in their new construction, despite recognition of potential for energy and cost savings.  There are significant barriers for using traditional materials, traditional designs, or materials with lower embodied energy, including fly-ash. In spite of incentives on renewable energy and its obvious cost benefits in India, its contribution to the total energy demand is minimal in India at 2%

For sustainable development of the city; to ensure adequate power throughout the year without the need for regular power cuts and; with a potential to maintain comfort conditions for nearly 80% of the time using passive solar features or low energy systems, energy efficiency of building in Hyderabad has to be improved immensely. Especially, reducing the energy intensity of commercial buildings will be very important, particularly as commercial area within Hyderabad continues to increase.

Water- Where are we getting it from?

Until a few years ago, Hyderabad was endowed with a number of natural and artificial lakes and could meet its water demand locally from Osmansagar, Himayatsagar, River Singur and River Manjira.
Over the past few years, increasing urban growth and changing urban lifestyles has put enormous pressure on the water supply requirement. At present,

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nearly 50% of the water is sourced from River Krishna that is 25okm away there is a deficit of nearly 10% of the total demand The projected deficit is projected to increase to 15% by 2011 and 32.5% by 2021 Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is planning to source water from as far as River Godavari to meet the future demand

 

Present and future demand requirements are based on these assumptions

There will be a constant per capita water demand of 165li/person/day (as required by NBC). In reality, changing urban lifestyles have resulted in increased water consumption that is far greater than 165li/person/day. With consumption patterns getting closer to those in western countries where it could go as high as 340li/person/day, demand and deficit figures are bound to be much greater than those projected. Calculations assume that water availability remains constant. If the size of water bodies continues to decrease and the pollution in waterways increases without proper sewage treatment or waste management, availability will decrease Network coverage of 90% in the old MCH area and only 65% in surrounding areas ULBs.

Why are we not able to meet demand locally in spite of a large number of lakes and good rainfall?

Apart from the obvious fact of increasing population, the reasons are many

The existing sources of water are diminishing because of inconsiderate development in catchment areas and ineffective catchment management Groundwater levels are receding due to increased withdrawals and reduced groundwater recharge due to huge areas of impervious urban sprawl Contamination of surface and sub-surface water is rampant due to poor sewage network, poor solid waste management. This has led to high incidences of water-borne diseases There is huge wastage of water in the form of leakages in public buildings, public water supply points. Poor social awareness among the residents is observed regarding conservation and preservation of lakes and tanks. Very few building and landscaping practices address water conservation Groundwater recharge is practiced, often unsuccessfully and rainwater collection is not practiced at all Recycled water reuse is only 3% of total water treated. Fresh water withdrawal is very high at 51% compared to countries such as UK or Australia where withdrawals as low as 5%, which shows minimal water recycling and reuse

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Apart from this, other issues relating to water supply that are being tackled by HMWSSB include

Partial network coverage Leakages in supply and unauthorised tapping of as much as 40% of the water supplied Intermittent piped water supply

Sewage- How much is collected and treated?

Sewerage is the system of sewers that conveys wastewater to a treatment plant or disposal point.

It includes all the pumps, rising mains, gravity mains, air release valves, screens, over flows and associated infrastructure. Efficient sewerage is often an indicator of good health of an urban centre.

What happens to the Sewage that is discharged from our buildings?

Indian cities, in general, suffer from an improper and inefficient sewerage system with an average network access of only 58% and Hyderabad is no exception to this with a network access of 70% on MCH area and only 20% in surrounding municipalities. This is a highly unsanitary situation given that most developed countries have a 100% sewage network and where it is not possible to provide network access, strict norm and regulations dictate sewage discharge.

Comparatively, in Hyderabad, where there is no network access, sewage is either discharged

A. into septic tanks which is a sensible option if they are constructed properly as per NBC norms

or

B. openly and indiscriminately without any treatment into nearby lakes or storm water drains by residents, industries and commercial establishments alike.

What happens to the sewage that is collected by the public drains?

At present, only 23% of the collected sewage is treated of which only 3% is recycled and reused.

The rest of the wastewater, including all of that which exceeds the capacity of lakeside sewage treatment plants (STPs), is transported long distances to the Musi River, where it is discharged unsanitarily.

Wastewater Generation and treatment capacity deficit - present and projected

Projected wastewater generation and treatment capacity deficit in HUA served by HMWSSB

Year	Estimated sewage generation* (MLD)	Treatment capacity (MLD)	Deficit (MLD)
2006	1053	133	920
2011	1162	133	1029
2016	1308	133	1175
2021	1453	133	1320

Capacity of treatment plants under construction (2008): 591 MLD

Capacity of Proposed STPs : 865 MLD

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*Calculations have been done assuming that 80% of the water supply is coming out as wastewater and the total estimated water demand is being met by the authorities

In all the developed countries, all the collected sewage is treated, recycled and reused in order to provide for the high levels of water supply requirements. In the city of London, it is a widely known fact that your drinking water supplied by the municipality  has been recycled 8 times. The water that is finally discharged into the River Thames also meets strict environmental norms.

Given this situation, these are main issues we face that make our sewage system highly unsustainable.

The sewerage network coverage is low and the treatment facilities are highly inadequate. For this reason, most of the untreated sewage finds its way into water bodies resulting in poor water quality, high pollution, loss of habitat and environmental degradation. River Musi, the main source of water, gets untreated sewage resulting in poor water quality standards and high pollution of the river. Hussain Sagar Lake that was used to supply water for the city until 1930 and other lakes are getting indiscriminate quantity of untreated domestic sewage leading to high pollution levels Existing sewers are often choked or blocked with high siltation or garbage due to various reasons, including the deposition of grit, improper waste disposal, and grease solidification from hot liquid waste from kitchens and restaurants

While HMWSSB is planning to provide 100% network coverage and sewage treatment by 2021, it might be too late to remedy the environmental damage to the city unless appropriate measures are taken up right now.

Storm water- Why does water log on the roads?

Storm water is water that originates during rains. Storm water drainage system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs.  Storm water that does not soak into the ground becomes surface runoff, which either flows into surface waterways or is channelled into storm sewers. Storm water is an important indicator of sustainability because its proper management ensures fresh water availability locally, lesser pollution of water bodies and erosion control.

Earlier, the city was planned to follow a natural drainage pattern and interconnected lakes were built to collect the water for ground water recharge and city’s water requirements, with the overflow reaching River Musi or Hussain Sagar. However, the modern development of Hyderabad, like many cities, ignored this ancient practice and as a result, faces many avoidable problems.

The main concerns with storm water in the city are

Increased impervious areas in the city have led to increased run off and reduced groundwater recharge. Infrastructure development has been irrespective of the natural drainage pattern Land use planning and permissions have not been in tune with natural drainage patterns Illegal encroachment of lakes has become rampant In most countries, storm water drains are combined with sewage drains, and the total dirty water is treated before it flows into lakes or rivers. In India, these two lines are separated in principal but both drains are used for both purposes. The existing drainage system that covers only 30% of the city is designed for a rainfall of 12 mm/hr whereas average intensity is 23 and peak is 52 mm/hr. In addition to an already inadequate system, residents, commercial establishments and institutions use storm water drains not just for sewage disposal but also to dispose solid waste.  In fact, 25 to 30% of the sewage is drained into storm water drains Also, regular maintenance of the storm water drains that involves de-silting and de-clogging is not effectively undertaken

Consequently, this has resulted in

Immense reduction in ground water recharge Disappearance of lakes and nalas which were part of an existing sustainable storm water management system for the city Clogging of drains due to the solid waste Untreated storm water and sewage drained into River Musi, Hussainsager and similar lakes has led to very high pollution levels of not just these water bodies but also ground water leading to dangerous health hazards

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So, the issues we face are known to all of us very well

Water logging on roads and flash floods in low lying areas have become part of life Water scarcity Reduced ground water levels Pollution of lakes, rivers and ground water Health hazards due to overflowing drains

There is a lack of an integrated storm water drainage plan at city level presently. If the current practices in storm water management persist, there shall be an irreversible damage to the various natural water bodies and other environmental hazards, besides degrading the quality of life of the residents. Frequent flooding in the low lying areas shall further aggravate bringing in valuable loss of working-man hours and economic losses especially to the poor who often live in slums and squatters.

Waste- Where does it end up?

In Hyderabad, GHMC and surrounding municipalities collect and dispose solid waste. 

While these authorities collect as much as 91% in the old MCH area and 95% in the surrounding municipalities, no segregation is undertaken by them. Most of the segregations is undertaken by the informal sector, in a system of ragpickers collecting household waste and separating recyclables to be sold if possible. Ragpickers are also seen collecting recyclable waste from community bins.

This method is of significant concern as

the rag pickers work in extremely unhygienic conditions with minimal protection. with no segregation undertaken at the household level, a lot of the recyclable waste gets contaminated reducing its market value. Because the informal sector would recycle waste that only has high market value, wet waste and products with very little market value as recyclables are rarely treated or formally disposed. Consequently, only 14% of the 25% of recyclable waste is recycled Wet or organic waste that constitutes nearly 40% of the total is not treated at all and ends up in the landfill. Most waste collection and waste segregation that does occur happens on a household level and does not occur in commercial establishments that generate nearly 15% of the waste in the city Biomedical waste is mixed up with municipal solid waste contaminating the whole quantity. This not only increases the hazards faced by the rag pickers but also increases the risk of disease Construction waste is disposed indiscriminately on the roads. This not only reduces the possibility to recycle this waste but also contributes to land, water and air pollution.

 

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Issues	MCH	Surrounding ULB's	Standards
Waste Disposal	Source segregation not followed		As per Municipal waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1999
	Open dumps	Open dumps
Construction Waste	Most of it recycled/used	Most of it recycled/used
	Informal Disposal	Informal disposal
Best practices	Exemplary Resident Welfare Associations	None

Waste processing is minimal in the city with a capacity to process only 19% of the waste generated in the old MCH area. This gap is bound to increase with increasing population of the city

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A vermi-composting plant on a small scale utilizing 7 tons of wetwaste per day is under operation with the involvement of Resident Welfare Associations. While this is almost negligible as a percentage of total waste, it is a best practice that could be emulated in other parts of the city A 6.6 MW MSW-based power project was commissioned in Hyderabad by SELCO International. It is currently processing only 400 tons per day of waste (GHMC-CMDA report), though its full capacity is 700 tons. Additionally, villagers near the installation are complaining of pollution and unbearable.

Waste disposal is of a greater concern as

Landfills are not properly designed and constructed. As they are open, animals have free access to the landfills leading to many diseases. No protective lining that stops leachate from seeping into the groundwater table is provided for the landfills that leads to pollution While some energy-generating waste incineration is occurring in few areas, solid waste is often incinerated informally, with few environmental controls for chemical pollution and particulates. Open landfills result in the entry of solid waste into waterways not only pollutions our rivers but also blocks proper storm water drainage.

GHMC are in the process of entering into a public private partnership for effective management of the collected waste and landfill sites. However, collection will still be undertaken by the authorities that might not result in any changes relating improvements in the cleanliness of streets, illegal landfills and pollution.
The situation is bound to change for the better only when 100% door to door collection is undertaken with dry waste being segregated at household/ building level similar to most developed countries around the world. Until then, even with the privatisation of waste treatment and disposal services but without an integrated solid waste management approach that involves collection as well, we would still face issues such as

The existing gap between waste generation and door to door collection will remain large and will increase tremendously if the current situation continues. Overflowing community bins with waste segregation undertaken by informal sector No improvement in the working conditions of rag pickers who will continue to work in unhygienic and dangerous conditions Animals scavenging community bins resulting in waste being littered over a wide area The percentage of waste that is recycled will not improve. Illegal dumping of waste at open lands will continue as door to door collection will continue to be undertaken by informal sector. There is no systematic disposal of construction waste, and most of the construction rubble ends up on the plots of private land owners, producing polluting runoff and disturbing the ecology of the surroundings. Door to door collection of waste from shops, commercial establishments, restaurants and hotels that produce nearly 15 percent of waste will not be undertaken. This waste will end up in community bins, storm water nalas, and illegal landfills. No improvement in segregation, treatment and disposal of biomedical waste and construction waste

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Pollution- Who are the main contributors?

Construction and building usage has been a major contributor to environmental pollution in the city. Buildings cause pollution both during construction and usage; both stages are responsible for air, noise, land and water pollution. Additionally, as the average buildings utilize energy excessively, they are thus responsible for the carbon emissions associated with this power production.

Land Pollution

Land and soil pollution is caused during construction in many ways.

Fertile soil is exposed and often eroded during the construction process - Few builders in Hyderabad remove the topsoil and focus on topsoil protection Chemicals released during construction (whether accidental spills or disposal by dumping) pollute both soil and groundwater. These are usually hazardous and include fine metal particles and wires, glass, plastic polythene sheets, asbestos products (insulation, tiles), centering oil, formwork oil, tar and tar products (bitumen, felt, water proofing compounds), chemical additives, sealants, adhesives, solvents, and batteries. Usually, there are no distinguished plans for hazardous construction waste management practiced on site. Inert solid waste includes sand, gravel, concrete, stone, bricks, and wood. While most of the inert waste from construction and demolition activities is reused on site, a lot of it ends up in landfills sites or silt storm water drains, lakes and rivers creating a lot of environmental problems

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Water Pollution

Water pollution occurs due to many reasons during construction and operation of buildings.

Construction wastewater and runoff water from paved surfaces, often containing cement and sand particles, paints, arnishes and oils, or cleaning agents, seeps into the ground and contaminates ground water. Storm water runoff and runoff from construction sites can carry chemicals, cement particles, or fertile soil into sewers or nearby rivers or lakes. While the chemical pollution is particularly detrimental, the increased siltation is also a form of water pollution and nutrient loss from the soils. As such no sedimentation control practices or practices that help reduce pollution of storm water runoff are practiced in the city

Air and Noise Pollution

The sources of noise and air pollution due to transportation, building maintenance and construction activities occurs mainly due to

Use of heavy machineries and vehicles during construction and demolition Operation of off-grid diesel generators for power Loading and unloading operations, particularly for cement, sand and aggregate Concrete and plaster preparation

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Precautions of shielding the site during construction activities are undertaken in very few building sites. Noise pollution is high in many areas as no measures are being taken to stop the noise pollution due to construction activity.

Consequently, the pollution levels in Hyderabad are well above national and international water and air quality standards. In particular, noise pollution and particulate matter levels are very high. Ailments caused by air pollution are affecting the residents. There are no measures for management of construction waste, which also includes hazardous waste. Since the new economic growth centres will come up in the periphery of HDA in conservation zones, it will be critical to reduce pollution in these areas.

Ecology and Geology - Have you spotted a sparrow recently in the city? And where are rocks disappearing?

Hyderabad, once known as a city of gardens, is now left with only nine major and about 240 minor parks spread over various localities. The per capita recreational space available in MCH area works out to 0.50 square meters against the national standard of 3.00 square meters. The adjoining 10 Municipalities and other peripheral areas have no such parks
A number of open spaces and community parks are being encroached upon and used for other building purposes.
The 932 tanks in 1973 in and around Hyderabad came down to 834 in 1996. Consequently the area under water bodies reduced from 118 to 110 sq.km. About 18 water bodies of over 10-hectare size and 80 tanks of below 10-hectare size were lost during that period in the HUDA area. Area under water bodies come down from 2.51 percent of the geographical area in 1964 to 2.40 percent in 1974 and to 1.57 percent in 1990. The decline during 1974-90’s period has been sharp.

With conservation / agriculture area due to reduce by 60% over the next 10 years, open spaces, green belts, water bodies and geological formations in Hyderabad are facing a threat of being encroached upon to cater to the built space demand owing to urbanisation.

Water bodies are being encroached upon despite the NBC regulations and Hyderabad Revised Building Rules of 2006 which ban any development in close proximity to any water body. The regulations mandating the creation of recreational or buffer zones of all construction projects in the vicinity of water bodies are often overridden.

In order to maintain the city’s identity, we need to seek solutions to conserve our unique ecology and geological creations while allowing for growth.

From what we can see, we can clearly see that the development is far from being sustainable. While the government is keen on moving in the right direction in this matter, there are other players who can also make a substantial difference. Hence, let us now look at

Who can make a DIFFERENCE to this situation?

Now let us see, what is the SOLUTION TO THIS SITUATION

What the SOLUTION is in the building sector?

Let us Understand, what can you do to improve this situation

How we could all CONTRIBUTE, both as individuals and through our built environment?

This website aims to answer all these questions and help in converting words into actions by providing detailed practical information.

Firstly, let’s talk about who can make a DIFFERENCE to the situation

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