New Delhi: Delhi will be going green this October. In an effort to reduce the carbon footprints of the Commonwealth Games 2010, the organizing committee (OC) is planning a number of initiatives to make the Games ecofriendly.
MARKING its silver jubilee on Sunday, the Salem Tree Club released a declaration that spells out eco-friendly solutions to day-to-day pollution. Pasumai Thayagam chairperson Sowmiya Anbumani received the first copy, which would be submitted to the government also.
The brick-kiln owners in the state have opposed the government notification asking them to use fly ash for making bricks.
As per the notification, a brick-kiln in 100 kilometre radius of any thermal plant is required to add 25 per cent of fly ash in the material used to make bricks. However, the kiln owners have rejected the government decision.
Development Alternatives (DA), a non- profit in New Delhi, recently organised a three-day Capacity Building Training on "Building for Future: Green and eco-friendly". Attended by students, architects and civil engineers from across India, the training programme aimed at creating awareness about sustainable building practices and green buildings.
It may be just a byproduct, but the state government has earned Rs 15 crore out of it. The fly ash from the thermal power plants in the state, once a major air pollutant, has now become a gold mine as construction companies and cement manufacturers compete to take a major chunk of the byproduct. The AP Power Generation Corporation (Genco) has earned Rs 15 crore by selling this fly ash. This is usually used to make bricks or add as a mixture to cement, used for construction or laying roads. More than nine million tonnes of ash was sold this year by Genco.
Architects across the world are promoting use of building materials derived from industrial waste. 
