Airports won't wait till terminal stage

New airports coming up across the country may be glass and steel structures, but they promise to come with a conscience.
Since the Union urban development ministry has long made it mandatory for all new big projects to harvest the rain, both the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private developers say their new projects are going to be green buildings.
"Any new development project must have rainwater harvesting structures. If there's a place where the water table is shallow and harvesting will not be possible, rainwater has to be stored and used so that dependence on groundwater or municipal supply for secondary (non-drinking) uses is reduced. Similarly, wastewater has to be treated and used for purposes like gardening," a senior water resource ministry official said.
Accordingly, the AAI has is going to harvest the rain at all its project sites. "We did that in Lucknow last year and harvesting structures were put up at Udaipur airport six months back. All our airports will be harvesting the rain," said a senior AAI official.
He added that AAI is installing sewage treatment plants also at all big sites. The idea is not to have any discharge into already choked municipal drains. The wastewater will be recycled and used for gardening.
The AAI is in fact looking at green building concept for all its future projects so that they are water and energy efficient.
22/05/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports May 2008