The SmartCity Kochi has been awarded by an industry body for its ecological sustainability, according to a PTI report. The award recognises the efforts of the city to go green and take initiatives which attempt to save energy, recycle waste, conserve water, avoid usage of plastic and promote overall cleanliness in the city. The SmartCity Kochi – a joint venture between the Kerala government and Dubai Holding – covers 246 acres.
The award, according to the report, is known to be among the best in the facility management sector. Called the FM Excellence Award, the honour is given by the Infrastructure, Facility, Human Resource and Realty Association (iNFHRA). The association enables industry bodies and the government to look into the policy issues, the PTI report quoted a press release as saying.
It also aims to promote high standards and best practices in the industry and among its members in order to improve the competitiveness, and it also interacts global partners to aid in economically developing the Indian industry.
Why has SmartCity Kochi won the award?
SmartCity Kochi took several initiatives which made it worthy of the award, according to the report:
- It established a rooftop solar photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 564 kWP, aimed at reducing by at least 10% the dependence on other sources of power which use limited resources.
- A tank with a capacity of 400 KL has been in place to harvest rainwater, even though the water in the city is being used entirely according to the norms laid down by the State Pollution Control Board. Moreover, aerators have been placed in taps to ensure optimum utilisation of water.
- It has also taken initiative like setting up of ozone depletion substance restriction, placing a ban on single-use plastic products, installing organic waste composting, encouraging rooftop gardening and promoting digital advertising.
SmartCity Kochi’s nodal company SmartCity Kochi Infrastructure Private Limited was shortlisted along with Bosch, Yamaha motors and Ramanujan IT City, who were all considered for their contributions to water management, environment management and green energy, the report added. The CEO of the company, Manoj Nair, said that the award was a great honour and recognition and added that the special economic zone founded in 2016 gave priority to green initiatives and sustainable energy in all the projects. He further said that SmartCity Kochi was not about just the development of infrastructure and buildings, it was about protecting the environment, which was the need of the hour.