Vertical Gardens: Policy Push in India's Pre-Budget Report

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) The government must come out with explicit guidelines to make vertical gardens an integral part of urban development, according to a pre-Budget document tabled in Parliament on Friday.

The report highlighted vertical gardens -- also known as living walls or vertical greenery systems -- as a promising solution to combat challenges from rapid urbanisation, including urban heat islands, rising carbon emissions, and air pollution.

The document pointed to its recently introduced Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code (ECSBC) 2024 as evidence of evolving regulations supporting sustainable building practices, while noting the need for specific vertical garden guidelines.

"While this code facilitates the adoption of sustainable designs, there remains an opportunity for further enhancements," the document stated.

Such policy changes would align India with Singapore, Japan, and the European Union, where vertical greening has become standard in urban development, according to the document.

The Income Tax Department has already implemented this concept, creating vertical gardens using over 7,00,000 waste plastic bottles across 17 states, demonstrating both environmental and aesthetic benefits.

These green installations can improve buildings' thermal performance, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity in densely populated urban areas, the document added.