Amravati: In a decisive push to counter extreme heat and curb soaring energy demand, the Amravati Municipal Corporation (AMC) has mandated ‘cool roofs’ for new buildings and rolled out tax incentives for retrofitting existing structures.AMC officials said the corporation is among the first in Maharashtra to notify and implement the Cool Roof Bylaws 2025, introduced under the state govt’s 150-day governance programme. The policy integrates heat mitigation into urban planning and aligns with initiatives such as the Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan and national sustainable cooling efforts, embedding climate resilience into the city’s building regulations.Municipal commissioner Saumya Sharma Chandak said cool roofs are now compulsory for all new govt, commercial, and public buildings, as well as residential and mixed-use structures exceeding 500 sq m or 15 metres in height. Compliance will be enforced at the building plan approval stage and verified during site inspections before issuance of the Occupancy Certificate. The provisions also apply to all municipal construction tenders.To encourage adoption in existing buildings, AMC is offering property tax rebates of up to 10% for residential and public buildings and 5% for commercial properties, valid for three years after certification. A dedicated digital portal has been developed for application, verification, and certification, with approved buildings receiving a “Climate Resilient Cool Roof Certificate” supported by QR-based verification.The bylaws follow a 2024 remote sensing-based Land Surface Temperature (LST) study that recorded peak temperatures of 53.7°C in dense urban pockets, with metal-roofed structures consistently exceeding 47°C. Chandak attributed the trend to rapid urbanisation, high building density, and increasing concretisation, which have intensified urban heat island effects, raised cooling demand, and heightened public health risks.Citing studies conducted with C40 Cities, Chandak said cool roofs can significantly lower indoor temperatures and improve thermal comfort during peak summer. “This marks a shift from reactive measures to integrating heat mitigation into core planning frameworks,” she said.AMC plans a follow-up LST assessment in 2027 to evaluate the impact of the intervention against baseline data. What’s cool roof“A cool roof refers to the use of materials such as specialised reflective paints, tiles, or thermal membranes with a high Solar Reflectance Index, enabling the surface to reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat than conventional roofs. Studies have shown that cool roofs can reduce peak ambient temperatures by about 2.3°C and surface temperatures by 6.1°C,” said Soumya Sharma Chandak.
