Soon, Nagpur HC building to shift to green energy
Nagpur: In a first of its kind probably in the country, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court, responding to the growing calls of reducing pollution and using green energy, has decided to shift to solar energy. This was announced by District Mineral Fundations (DMFs) member Anik Kilor on Monday. The DMFs, which are formed in every district as per Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), will sanction the fund for the purpose. “The high court administration has already granted green signal to the proposal. It was prepared by Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA), a government of Maharashtra Institution,” an elated Anil Kilor, the brain behind the concept, told TOI. The solar panels will be installed on the roof of the historic edifice, popularly referred as ‘Poem in stone’ due to its unique structure.
In fact, Kilor had moved the proposal last month in the capacity of Nagpur High Court Bar Association (HCBA) president, which was readily agreed by the court’s administration. The entire project would cost Rs1.35 crore which will cover all three wings of the building. Though the cost appears to be exorbitant, it will help saving Rs39 lakh every year. Once started, it would just take four months to install the solar panels on rooftops of entire structure. Usually, the life of solar panel is around 20 years, which means the entire court premises would be getting free power for 20 years. “As per the scheme (PMKKKY), the royalty generated through sale of minerals should be used in that district only to benefit the citizens affected by mining-related operations. The funds are provided under nine heads, including education, sanitation, health care, skill development, environment conservation and others. Of them, we are getting funds under renewable energy,” Kilor said. The HCBA will soon be submitting the proposal to DMF in next couple of weeks after which the funds will be released. Under Kilor, the new HCBA team has already given a facelift to the historic premises by changing its interiors.
Two new buildings for admn & office work
The HCBA also come out with a proposal to construct two new buildings at the 1.46 acre land at PWD chief engineers bungalow, which was handed over to the high court registry, as per the HC’s directives. Kilor was in Mumbai on Monday to hold talks with finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and PWD officials. “We have submitted the blueprint of new buildings. Each of them would be of seven floors (G+6) with three floors underground parking. Of them, one building would be for use of court administration and other one would be for lawyers’ chambers. The collective estimate of both structures would be Rs167 crore, including furniture, and would be constructed by the PWD,” Kilor said. The new buildings will also be completely green ones with state-of-the-art infrastructure and completed in one and half to two years. “It will have an auditorium, multiple lifts, furniture and even a sewage treatment plant (STP) to recycle the waste water,” the HCBA chief said.
Source:TOI
