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GRIHA is an acronym for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.

GRIHA is a
Sanskrit word meaning Abode. Human Habitats (buildings interact wit! t!e
en"ironment in "arious ways. #!roug!out t!eir life cycles$ from construction to o%eration
and t!en demolition$ t!ey consume resources in t!e form of energy$ water$ materials$ etc.
and emit wastes eit!er directly in t!e form of munici%al wastes or indirectly as emissions
from electricity generation.
GRIHA attem%ts to minimi&e a buildings resource consum%tion$ waste generation$ and
o"erall ecological im%act to wit!in certain nationally acce%table limits ' benc!marks.
Going by t!e old adage w!at gets measured$ gets managed$ GRIHA attem%ts to (uantify
as%ects suc! as energy consum%tion$ waste generation$ renewable energy ado%tion$ etc.
so as to manage$ control and reduce t!e same to t!e best %ossible e)tent.
GRIHA is a rating tool t!at !el%s %eo%le assesses t!e %erformance of t!eir building against
certain nationally acce%table benc!marks. It e"aluates t!e en"ironmental %erformance of a
building !olistically o"er its entire life cycle$ t!ereby %ro"iding a definiti"e standard for
w!at constitutes a green building. #!e rating system$ based on acce%ted energy and
en"ironmental %rinci%les$ will seek to strike a balance between t!e establis!ed %ractices
and emerging conce%ts$ bot! national and international.
Evolution of GRIHA
#!e ra%id increase in Indian %o%ulation and growt! of Gross *omestic +roduct (G*+ !as
gi"en rise to an enormous demand for buildings wit! a subse(uent %ressure on a"ailability
of resources. Anot!er key c!allenge for t!e built,en"ironment of Indian cities is t!e
diminis!ing a"ailability of water for urban areas.
In order to be sustainable$ t!e en"ironmental %ressures of increased demand for resources
cou%led wit! a ra%idly c!anging climate are being addressed by %olicy makers at "arious
le"els. Se"eral %olicy and regulatory mec!anisms to address t!e urban c!allenges$
im%lemented t!roug! national %lans and %rogrammes !a"e been de"ised. #!e -inistries
and agencies at t!e .entre !a"e designed frameworks suc! as t!e /n"ironmental
.learance to ensure efficiency in resource use for large %ro0ects (i.e. more t!an 12$222 s(
m built u% area$ t!e /nergy .onser"ation 3uilding .ode (/.3. a%%licable to air
conditioned commercial buildings wit! connected load more t!an 422 k5 and t!e Solar
3uildings +rogramme for /nergy /fficient 3uildings$ for im%lementation by t!e designated
State agencies and munici%al bodies.
Howe"er as in most countries$ t!ere is a !uge sco%e to o%timi&e t!e effecti"eness of %olicy
by encouraging a more !olistic life,cycle a%%roac! to building. 6ack of disincenti"es for
non,com%liance$ agencies and systems working in factions (i.e. "arious de%artments at
.entre and State looking at issues related to energy efficiency$ renewable energy$ water
resources$ waste management inde%endently7 as o%%osed to a !olistic a%%roac! t!at
would address t!e building sector encom%assing water$ energy etc. as a w!ole7 and
im%lementation of codes and standards %rior to "erification on site$ leading to
im%lementation c!allenges on site are some of t!e difficulties faced during im%lementation
of %olicies on sustainable !abitats.
In "iew of t!e abo"e$ and wit! an o"erall ob0ecti"e to reduce resource consum%tion$
reduce green!ouse gas emissions and en!ance t!e use of renewable and recycled
resources by t!e building sector$ #/RI !as %layed a crucial role in con"ergence of "arious
initiati"es$ essential for effecti"e im%lementation and mainstreaming of sustainable
!abitats in India. 5it! o"er two decades of e)%erience on green and energy efficient
buildings$ #/RI !as de"elo%ed GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment$
w!ic! was ado%ted as t!e national rating system for green buildings by t!e Go"ernment of
India in 1228 (refer figure 4.
Internationally$ "oluntary building rating systems !a"e been instrumental in raising
awareness and %o%ulari&ing green design. Howe"er$ most of t!e rating systems de"ised
!a"e been tailored to suit t!e building industry of t!e country w!ere t!ey were de"elo%ed.
#!is tool !as been ado%ted by t!e -inistry of 9ew and Renewable /nergy. #!is tool$ by its
(ualitati"e and (uantitati"e assessment criteria$ is able to rate a building on t!e degree of
its :greenness:.
The basic features of GRIHA
#!e system !as been de"elo%ed to !el% design and e"aluate new buildings (buildings
t!at are still at t!e ince%tion stages. A building is assessed based on its %redicted
%erformance o"er its entire life cycle ince%tion t!roug! o%eration. #!e stages of t!e life
cycle t!at !a"e been identified for e"aluation are;
Pre-construction stage: (intra- and inter-site issues like proximity to public
transport, type of soil, kind of land, where the property is located, the fora
and fauna on the land before construction activity starts, the natural
landscape and land features)
!uilding planning and construction stages: (issues of resource conservation
and reduction in resource demand, resource utili"ation e#ciency, resource
recovery and reuse, and provisions for occupant health and well-being)
$he prime resources that are considered in this section are land, water,
energy, air, and green cover
!uilding operation and maintenance stage: (issues of operation and
maintenance of building systems and processes, monitoring and recording
of energy consumption, and occupant health and well-being, and also
issues that a%ect the global and local environment)
The benefts
<n a broader scale$ t!is system$ along wit! t!e acti"ities and %rocesses t!at lead u% to it$
will benefit t!e community at large wit! t!e im%ro"ement in t!e en"ironment by reducing
GHG (green!ouse gas emissions$ reducing energy consum%tion and t!e stress on natural
resources.
Some of t!e benefits of a green design to a building owner$ user$ and t!e society as a
w!ole are as follows;
&educed energy consumption without sacri'cing the comfort levels
&educed destruction of natural areas, habitats, and biodiversity, and
reduced soil loss from erosion etc
&educed air and water pollution (with direct health bene'ts)
&educed water consumption
(imited waste generation due to recycling and reuse
&educed pollution loads
)ncreased user productivity
*nhanced image and marketability
GRIHA RATING
GRIHA rating system consists of => criteria categori&ed under "arious sections suc! as Site
Selection and Site +lanning$ .onser"ation and /fficient ?tili&ation of Resources$ 3uilding
<%eration and -aintenance$ and Inno"ation %oints.
/ig!t of t!ese => criteria are mandatory$ four are %artly mandatory$ w!ile t!e rest are
o%tional. /ac! criterion !as a number of %oints assigned to it. It means t!at a %ro0ect
intending to meet t!e criterion would (ualify for t!e %oints. *ifferent le"els of certification
(one star to fi"e stars are awarded based on t!e number of %oints earned. #!e minimum
%oints re(uired for certification is @2.
Eligibility
All buildings more t!an 1$@22 s( m$ (e)ce%t for industrial com%le)es$ w!ic! are in t!e
design stage$ are eligible for certification under GRIHA. 3uildings include; offices$ retail
s%aces$ institutional buildings$ !otels$ !os%ital buildings$ !ealt!care facilities$ residences$
and multi,family !ig!,rise buildings.
Process
i) Registration
&egistration should preferably be done at beginning of a pro+ect, as several
issues need to be addressed at the pre-design stage
$he registration process includes access to the essential information
related to rating
ii) Documentation
#!e e"aluation system co"ers interdisci%linary areas. Submissions re(uired for meeting
any %articular criterion are elaborated in s%ecific sections.
All documents (in soft "ersion related to t!e attem%ted (criteria s!ould be submitted
along wit! t!e a%%lication (%re,construction stage. <nly t!e attem%ted criteria will be
re"iewed.
.
iii) Evaluation
#!e %ro0ect documentation is e"aluated online and rated in a t!ree,tier %rocess. After
online submission of documents$ t!e %reliminary e"aluation is done by team of
%rofessionals and e)%erts from GRIHA Secretariat$ *ocumentation s!ould be com%lete in
all res%ects for all attem%ted criteria. Any attem%ted criteria wit! incom%lete
documentation is not be e"aluated. #!e documentation formats are %ro"ided online for
eac! criterion. <nline calculators %ro"ided for s%ecific criteria need to be filled in and
submitted.
#!e A*aRSH team first re"iews com%liance of t!e %ro0ect wit! t!e mandatory criteria and
re0ect t!e %ro0ect in t!e e"ent of non,com%liance wit! suc! criteria.
#!e A*aRSH team will t!en e"aluate t!e o%tional criteria and estimate t!e total number of
ac!ie"able %oints. All com%liance documents will be c!ecked and "etted t!roug! t!e
a%%raisal %rocess as outlined by GRIHA.
#!e e"aluation summary re%ort is sent to members of t!e e"aluation committee for GRIHA
com%rising of renowned sector e)%erts from landsca%e arc!itecture$ lig!ting and HAA.
design$ renewable energy$ water and waste management$ and building materials. #!e
e"aluation committee members will "et t!e %oints estimated by t!e tec!nical team. #!e
e"aluation committee will t!en inde%endently re"iew t!e documents for t!e award of
%oints. #!e e"aluation committee may use t!e e"aluation summary re%ort submitted by
t!e tec!nical team as a guiding document. #!e e"aluation committee will award %ro"isional
%oints and also comment on s%ecific criteria$ if need be. #!e e"aluation re%ort will be sent
to t!e %ro0ect %ro%onent to re"iew t!e same and$ if desired$ take ste%s to increase t!e
score. #!e re%ort will elaborate on t!e results of t!e e"aluation committee along wit! its
comments. #!e re%ort will %ro"ide comments on eac! criteria and an o"erall comment on
t!e entire re%ort. #!e client will be gi"en one mont!:s time to resubmit t!e document wit!
necessary modifications 'additions. #!e resubmitted document will com%rise only of t!e
additional documents ' information desired in t!e e"aluation re%ort. #!e resubmitted
documents will again be %ut t!roug! t!e "etting %rocess described abo"e. #!e e"aluation
committee will t!en award t!e final score. #!e final score will be %resented to #!e Ad"isory
.ommittee com%rising eminent %ersonalities and renowned %rofessionals in t!e field for
a%%ro"al and award of rating. #!e rating will be "alid for a %eriod of fi"e years from t!e
date of commissioning of t!e building. A*aRSH reser"es t!e rig!t to undertake a random
audit of any criteria for w!ic! %oints !a"e been awarded.
Certifcation fee
#!e registration cum rating fee (sub0ect to re"iew and modification e"ery year w.e.f. from
Buly 4$ 122C is as follows;
The fee includes
,ost of -&)./ documents and templates
$hird party evaluator fees
Professional time for one-day training workshop for all consultants involved
in the pro+ect
-&)./ 0ecretariat costs for documents collection, assimilation, valuation
and submission
The fee does not include
$hird party post occupancy (at the operational stage) audit by !**
certi'ed energy auditor1agency
*xpenditure incurred by /2a&0. team on travel for training workshops,
site visits (to be reimbursed by the client as per actuals)
-overnment taxes as applicable to be paid on the registration fee
.andholding1facilitation1consultancy necessary for rating
It may be noted t!at award of t!e rating is sub0ect to fulfillment of all re(uirements as
elaborated in GRIHA document.
Criteria and their weightage
GRIHA is a guiding and %erformance,oriented system w!ere %oints are earned for meeting
t!e design and %erformance intent of t!e criteria. /ac! criterion !as a number of %oints
assigned to it. It means t!at a %ro0ect intending to meet t!e criterion would (ualify for t!e
%oints.
.om%liances$ as s%ecified in t!e rele"ant criterion$ !a"e to be submitted in t!e %rescribed
format. 5!ile t!e intent of some of t!e criteria is self,"alidating in nature$ t!ere are ot!ers
suc! as energy consum%tion$ t!ermal and "isual comfort$ noise control$ and indoor
%ollution le"els w!ic! need to be "alidated on,site t!roug! %erformance monitoring. #!e
%oints related to t!ese criteria (s%ecified under t!e rele"ant sections are awarded
%ro"isionally w!ile certifying and are con"erted into firm %oints t!roug! monitoring$
"alidation$ and documents'%!otogra%!s to su%%ort t!e award of %oint.
GRIHA is a 422 %oint system consisting of some core %oints$ w!ic! are mandatory$ w!ile
t!e rest are o%tional.
*ifferent le"els of certification (one star to fi"e stars are awarded based on t!e number of
%oints earned. #!e minimum %oints re(uired for certification is @2.
Points achieved GRIHA Rating
34-54
56-74
76-84
86-94
96-644
GRIHA
FOR
LARGE
,riteria 6 0ite 0election
,riteria :
Preserve and protect landscape during
construction
,riteria ; 0oil conservation (post construction)
,riteria < 2esign to include existing site features
,riteria 3 &educe hard paving on site
,riteria 5 *nhance outdoor lighting system e#ciency
,riteria 7 Plan utilities e#ciently and optimise on site
circulation e#ciency
,riteria 8 =inimum sanitation and safety facilities for
construction workers
,riteria 9 &educe air pollution during construction
,riteria 64 &educe landscape water re>uirement
,riteria 66 &educe building water use
,riteria 6: *#cient water use during construction
,riteria 6; ?ptimise building design to reduce conventional
energy demand
,riteria 6< ?ptimise energy performance of building
,riteria 63 @tili"ation of fyash in building structure
,riteria 65 /dopt energy e#cient technology in
construction
,riteria 67 @se low-energy material in the interiors
,riteria 68 A
69
&enewable energy utili"ation
,riteria :4 Baste water treatment
,riteria :6 Bater recycle and reuse
,riteria :: &eduction in waste during construction
,riteria :; *#cient waste segregation
,riteria :< @tili"ation of fyash in building structure
,riteria :3 /dopt energy e#cient technology in
construction
,riteria :5 @se of low-C?, (volatile organic compounds)
paints1 adhesives 1 sealants
,riteria :7 =inimi"e o"one D depleting substances
,riteria :8 *nsure water >uality
,riteria :9 /cceptable outdoor and indoor noise levels
,riteria ;4 $obacco and smoke control
,riteria ;6 Provide the minimum level of accessibility for
persons with disabilities
,riteria ;: *nergy audit and validation
,riteria ;; ?A= protocol for electrical and mechanical
e>uipment
DEVELOPMENT
NEE
5it! increasing urbani&ation$ economic growt!$ and t!e rising consum%tion %attern in
India$ t!ere !as been an increasing trend to consume more natural resources %er ca%ita.
Hig!er incomes !a"e gi"en rise to greater demand for better standards of li"ing$ t!ereby
adding to t!e already significant stress on t!e en"ironment and "arious ot!er natural
resources. #!is results in an e"er widening ga% between demand and su%%ly for electricity$
%otable water$ and many ot!er t!ings. According to t!e 41t! Di"e Eear +lan$ released by
t!e +lanning .ommission of t!e Go"ernment of India$ nearly 1C@ million %eo%le were li"ing
in urban agglomerations. #!is number increased to almost =C2 million in t!e year 1244
and t!e %ro0ections are t!at by 12=2$ almost F22 million %eo%le will be li"ing in urban
areas. Increasing %o%ulation cou%led wit! continued urbani&ation is likely to result in t!e
emergence of about F2,82 cities wit! %o%ulation of more t!an a million by 12=2. In t!e
%ast fi"e years$ t!e .entral go"ernment !as focused a lot on t!e de"elo%ment of S/Gs$
educational cam%uses$ and new towns!i%s. /"en t!e %ri"ate construction sector !as now
begun de"elo%ing large,scale %ro0ects t!at offer multi%le %roduct o%tions as a %art of a
single %ackage. So$ for instance$ a !ousing %ro0ect may offer lifestyle facilities suc! as on
cam%us club,!ouses$ gymnasia$ swimming %ools$ con"enience stores$ etc. #!ere are an
increasing numbers of suc! large de"elo%ments coming u% in t!e country. #!ese com%rise
t!e following;
!" #arge $%i&ed'use( townshi)s*
.ousing complex by builders
.ousing complexes by urban development organi"ations
.ousing board and Public 0ector @ndertaking $ownships
Plotted developments with part construction by the developer
2. Educational and institutional campuses
3. Medical colleges and Hospital complexes (eg !""M#)
$. #pecial economic %ones
&. Hotels' resorts
5!en a large %ro0ect is %lanned and im%lemented$ it com%rises multi%le buildings and
ot!er infrastructural facilities$ on a single site. /n"ironmental +erformance Assessment for
suc! %ro0ects s!ould go beyond t!e en"ironmental design of eac! building$ and calls for
assessment of larger en"ironmental issues$ and t!eir effects t!at are broug!t out by t!e
built en"ironment. /mergence of t!ese new large,scale de"elo%ments' towns!i%s'
neig!bour!oods and t!e growt! of t!e older ones are bringing in com%le) c!anges to
ecology$ natural resources and en"ironment at local$ regional$ and global scales. It is !ig!
time we %ay !eed to our %lanning %ractices and guidelines t!at are followed to %lan our
cities and make t!em in suc! a way t!at t!ey %romote sustainable de"elo%ment wit!
lesser im%act on en"ironment.
GRIHA #
#!e Association for *e"elo%ment and Researc! for Sustainable Habitats (A*aRSH$ in
association wit! #!e /nergy and Resources Institute (#/RI and t!e -inistry of 9ew and
Renewable /nergy (-9R/$ !as launc!ed t!e Green Rating for Integrated Habitat
Assessment (GRIHA and Sim%le Aersatile Affordable GRIHA (SAA GRIHA$ in order to
address and %romote green buildings in India. Howe"er$ a need was felt to create a
framework to assess t!e en"ironmental %erformance of larger de"elo%ments$ t!e singular
units w!ic! toget!er make u% cities neig!bour!ood'towns!i%s and wit! t!is focus7
A*aRSH along wit! #/RI !as de"elo%ed a rating system for large de"elo%ments titled
GRIHA 6* (6arge *e"elo%ments. #!e intent of GRIHA 6* is to %ro"ide a consolidated
framework for assessment of en"ironmental im%acts of large scale de"elo%ments.
(ualification for rating
All %ro0ects w!ic! satisfy eit!er of t!e following two t!res!olds may a%%ly for a GRIHA 6*
rating;
$otal built up area greater than or e>ual to 6, 34,444 s>mE and1or
$otal site area greater than or e>ual to 34 hectares
+RA,E-.R/
All sites in t!eir nati"e state sustain "arious ecological cycles and do not !a"e any
detrimental im%act on t!eir surroundings. .onstruction leads to disru%tion of "arious cycles
as well as e)erts demand for "arious resources like energy$ water$ etc. #!erefore$
con"entional construction %ractices !a"e a detrimental im%act on t!eir surroundings. In
t!e framework of GRIHA 6*$ %ro0ects w!ic! reduce t!eir detrimental im%act on t!e
surroundings to t!e minimum and attem%t to become self,sufficient in as%ects like energy$
water$ etc.$ will be gi"en t!e !ig!est rating. #!erefore$ t!e lower t!e negati"e im%act of a
de"elo%ment on its surrounding$ t!e better t!e GRIHA 6* star rating.
In GRIHA 6* t!e de"elo%ment will be e"aluated in si) different sections as listed below;
0ite Planning
*nergy
Bater and waste water
0olid waste management
$ransport
0ocial
/ac! section com%rises two %arts; Huantitati"e and Hualitati"e. /ac! section will be
e"aluated on (uantitati"e (e)ce%t Social %arameters as well as (ualitati"e. In t!e section
on Social$ since t!ere are no (uantitati"e %arameters$ t!e e"aluation will be done based on
only (ualitati"e %arameters.

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