Telangana launches cool roof policy

Hyderabad, Apr 3 (PTI) The Telangana government on Monday launched 'Telangana Cool Roof Policy 2023-2028' aimed at reducing heat island impact and heat stress.

Unveiling the policy, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao said it has long-term objectives which will be of use to future generations.

Telangana being the third most urbanised state in the country with almost 50 per cent of the population residing in the urban areas, there is a serious need to introduce cost-effective and climate-friendly cooling solutions to counter the urban heat island effect, he said in a press release.

"By 2030, 200 sq km in Hyderabad and 100 sq km in the rest of the state will be brought under cool roofing," he said adding the target set by New York was to cover 10 lakh square feet or 0.1 square kilometers.

Further, he said that the area under Outer Ring Road here was over 1,000 sq km and that about 20 per cent of the area inside ORR will be brought under cool roofing.

The Minister added that the State government’s ambition was to implement it in government housing schemes, government offices, roads, pavements, and cycling tracks.

Telangana is the first state in the country to launch a cool roof policy and it is a right step in the direction to address future climate challenges. The policy encourages and promotes the usage of cool roof. These roofs reflect some of the sun’s incoming radiation back into the atmosphere thus reducing heat retention and cooling indoor spaces.

KTR urged builders and individuals who construct buildings to take cool roofing which can be implemented by using paints, tiles or other materials to reflect sunlight and retrofitted in existing buildings.

Recalling his conversation with tiles and paints companies representatives, KTR said that people can recover their investment in cool roofing within two years, in the form of energy savings and others.

The minister said that campaigns would be taken up to explain to people the benefits of cool roofs. PTI GDK GDK GDK SS