To make Telangana a more heat-resilient state, the state government has taken an innovative step and launched the Telangana Cool Roof Policy.
The Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD), KT Rama Rao, launched Telangana Cool Roof Policy 2023-2028 in Hyderabad on Monday.
The new policy aims at reducing heat island impact and heat stress and it has long-term objectives which will be of use to future generations.
By 2030, 200 square kilometres in Hyderabad and 100 sqkm in the rest of the State will be brought under cool roofing, the Minister said.
He also stated that the area under Outer Ring Road (ORR) was over 1,000 sqkm and that about 20% of the area inside ORR will be brought under cool roofing. The Minister added that the State government’s s ambition was to implement it in government housing schemes, government offices, roads, pavements, and cycling tracks.
KTR urged builders and individuals who construct buildings to adopt cool roofing technology in paints, tiles or other materials to reflect sunlight. It can be retrofitted in existing buildings and it will reflect the sunlight up to 5 degrees.
Recalling his conversation with tiles and paints companies’ representatives, KTR said Rs 300 will cost for every square foot of cool roofing and people can recover their investment within two years by saving electricity bills.
The minister said that campaigns would be taken up to explain to people the benefits of cool roofs.
Rao said that the government is committed towards environmental conservation and Telangana was the first State to adopt Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in 2014, the state government implemented Haritha Haaram and encouraged the usage of energy efficient machines and systems. Also, the Minister spoke to the officials about incentivising urban farming and rooftop kitchens.
Telangana is the third most urbanized state in the country with almost 50% of the population residing in urban areas, there is a serious need to introduce cost-effective and climate-friendly cooling solutions to counter the urban heat island effect. These roofs reflect some of the sun’s s incoming radiation back into the atmosphere thus reducing heat retention and cooling indoor spaces, Rama Rao said.
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