About GRIHA

GRIHA is an acronym for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment. GRIHA is a Sanskrit word meaning Abode. Human
Habitats (buildings) interact with the environment in various ways. Throughout their life cycles, from construction to operation
and then demolition, they consume resources in the form of energy, water, materials, etc. and emit wastes either directly in the
form of municipal wastes or indirectly as emissions from electricity generation. GRIHA attempts to minimize a buildings
resource consumption, waste generation, and overall ecological impact to within certain nationally acceptable limits /
benchmarks.
Going by the old adage what gets measured, gets managed, GRIHA attempts to quantify aspects such as energy consumption,
waste generation, renewable energy adoption, etc. so as to manage, control and reduce the same to the best possible extent.
GRIHA is a rating tool that helps people assesses the performance of their building against certain nationally acceptable
benchmarks. It evaluates the environmental performance of a building holistically over its entire life cycle, thereby providing a
definitive standard for what constitutes a green building. The rating system, based on accepted energy and environmental
principles, will seek to strike a balance between the established practices and emerging concepts, both national and
international.

Evolution of GRIHA
The rapid increase in Indian population and growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has given rise to an enormous demand for
buildings with a subsequent pressure on availability of resources. Another key challenge for the built-environment of Indian
cities is the diminishing availability of water for urban areas.
In order to be sustainable, the environmental pressures of increased demand for resources coupled with a rapidly changing
climate are being addressed by policy makers at various levels. Several policy and regulatory mechanisms to address the urban
challenges, implemented through national plans and programmes have been devised. The Ministries and agencies at the Centre
have designed frameworks such as the Environmental Clearance to ensure efficiency in resource use for large projects (i.e.

more than 20,000 sq m built up area), the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) applicable to air conditioned commercial
buildings with connected load more than 100 kW and the Solar Buildings Programme for Energy Efficient Buildings, for
implementation by the designated State agencies and municipal bodies.
However as in most countries, there is a huge scope to optimize the effectiveness of policy by encouraging a more holistic lifecycle approach to building. Lack of disincentives for non-compliance, agencies and systems working in factions (i.e. various
departments at Centre and State looking at issues related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, water resources, waste
management independently; as opposed to a holistic approach that would address the building sector encompassing water,
energy etc. as a whole); and implementation of codes and standards prior to verification on site, leading to implementation
challenges on site are some of the difficulties faced during implementation of policies on sustainable habitats.
In view of the above, and with an overall objective to reduce resource consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
enhance the use of renewable and recycled resources by the building sector, TERI has played a crucial role in convergence of
various initiatives, essential for effective implementation and mainstreaming of sustainable habitats in India. With over two
decades of experience on green and energy efficient buildings, TERI has developed GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat
Assessment), which was adopted as the national rating system for green buildings by the Government of India in 2007 (refer
figure 1).
Internationally, voluntary building rating systems have been instrumental in raising awareness and popularizing green design.
However, most of the rating systems devised have been tailored to suit the building industry of the country where they were
developed.
This tool has been adopted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. This tool, by its qualitative and quantitative
assessment criteria, is able to rate a building on the degree of its 'greenness'.

Figure 1: Evolving landscape of sustainable habitats in India: genesis of GRIHA

The basic features of GRIHA

The system has been developed to help design and evaluate new buildings (buildings that are still at the inception stages). A
building is assessed based on its predicted performance over its entire life cycle inception through operation. The stages of
the life cycle that have been identified for evaluation are:

Pre-construction stage: (intra- and inter-site issues like proximity to public transport, type of soil, kind of land,
where the property is located, the flora and fauna on the land before construction activity starts, the natural
landscape and land features).

Building planning and construction stages: (issues of resource conservation and reduction in resource
demand, resource utilization efficiency, resource recovery and reuse, and provisions for occupant health and
well-being). The prime resources that are considered in this section are land, water, energy, air, and green
cover.

Building operation and maintenance stage: (issues of operation and maintenance of building systems and
processes, monitoring and recording of energy consumption, and occupant health and well-being, and also
issues that affect the global and local environment).

The benefits
On a broader scale, this system, along with the activities and processes that lead up to it, will benefit the community at large
with the improvement in the environment by reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, reducing energy consumption and the
stress on natural resources.
Some of the benefits of a green design to a building owner, user, and the society as a whole are as follows:

Reduced energy consumption without sacrificing the comfort levels

Reduced destruction of natural areas, habitats, and biodiversity, and reduced soil loss from erosion etc.

Reduced air and water pollution (with direct health benefits)

Reduced water consumption

Limited waste generation due to recycling and reuse

Reduced pollution loads

Increased user productivity

Enhanced image and marketability

GRIHA PRECERTIFICATION
In accordance with the Office Memorandum by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of India, GRIHA
Council has proposed a procedure that will enable fast track environmental clearance through GRIHA pre-certification.
Mapping of EIA submittals with GRIHA submittals

Eligibility
Except for industrial complexes, all buildings - offices, retail malls, institutions, hotels, hospitals, health-care facilities,
residences and multifamily high rise buildings - in the pre-design/ design stage are eligible for pre - certification under GRIHA.

i.

For built up area greater than 20,000 sq. mtr

Projects applying for Environmental Clearance from MoEF are eligible to apply under this category. Please note that it is
mandatory to register the project under GRIHA rating after precertification has been awarded.

ii.

For built up area less than 20,000 sq. mtr

Projects can register for GRIHA pre-certification and GRIHA rating at the same time. The registration- cum- rating fee for
both the processes must be submitted upfront by the project proponent to complete the registration process.

Process
i.

Registration: On submitting the online Expression of Interest, the project team must submit a proposed
development plan for the registered project with a recent date stamped site photographs. GRIHA Council shall
then review the feasibility of registering the project for GRIHA pre-certification. Once approved by GRIHA
Council, the project can proceed with the payment of registration cum rating fee and precertification process.

ii.

Certification fee:GRIHA pre-certification fee is calculated on the built-up area (excluding basement area for
parking)
o

For registration fees details.click here

Please note that the fee is non-refundable and must be paid upfront on registration of the project for GRIHA precertification. The fee includes only one internal and external review.

iii.

Online submission of documents: All compliance documents are submitted through the online portal on
the GRIHA website. The documents must be uploaded under the categories mentioned in the "Document
Checklist".
o

Narratives

Declaration/certificates

Drawings

Test reports

Other documentation

GRIHA checklist

Presentation for GRIHA pre-certification (summary of the project)

Submitted documents will be evaluated by GRIHA Council. Criteria wise summary for the project is then submitted to the
committee members.
*A pdf copy of each document needs to be submitted along with the word/dwg file .

iv.

Evaluation process: GRIHA Council shall revert with the feedback on the submitted documents within two
weeks of online submission. Revised documents may be submitted by the clients within two weeks of
receiving comments from GRIHA Council for evaluation by the pre-certification committee. Pre-certification is
awarded after approval from the committee along with a detailed compliance report. In case the project is
falling short of compliance, a non-compliance report with necessary corrective actions to be taken will be
provided to the project proponent/SEIAC by GRIHA Council.

GRIHA RATING
GRIHA rating system consists of 34 criteria categorized under various sections such as Site Selection and Site Planning,
Conservation and Efficient Utilization of Resources, Building Operation and Maintenance, and Innovation points.
Eight of these 34 criteria are mandatory, four are partly mandatory, while the rest are optional. Each criterion has a number of
points assigned to it. It means that a project intending to meet the criterion would qualify for the points. Different levels of

certification (one star to five stars) are awarded based on the number of points earned. The minimum points required for
certification is 50.

Eligibility
All buildings more than 2,500 sq m, (except for industrial complexes), which are in the design stage, are eligible for certification
under GRIHA. Buildings include: offices, retail spaces, institutional buildings, hotels, hospital buildings, healthcare facilities,
residences, and multi-family high-rise buildings.
For more details on the rating system, click here.

Criteria of the rating system

Scoring points for GRIHA

Evaluation procedure of criterion of GRIHA

Process
i) Registration

A project has to be registered with GRIHA Council through the GRIHA website by filling in the registration form
online.

Registration should preferably be done at beginning of a project, as several issues need to be addressed at
the pre-design stage.

The registration process includes access to the essential information related to rating.

ii) Documentation
The evaluation system covers interdisciplinary areas. Submissions required for meeting any particular criterion are elaborated in
specific sections.
All documents (in soft version) related to the attempted (criteria should be submitted along with the application (preconstruction stage). Only the attempted criteria will be reviewed.
The document covers the details required for applying for certification. Queries on the rating may be sent
to info@grihaindia.org which will be responded to within two working days.
iii) Evaluation
The project documentation is evaluated online and rated in a three-tier process. After online submission of documents, the
preliminary evaluation is done by team of professionals and experts from GRIHA Secretariat, GRIHA Council. Documentation
should be complete in all respects for all attempted criteria. Any attempted criteria with incomplete documentation is not be
evaluated. The documentation formats are provided online for each criterion. Online calculators provided for specific criteria
need to be filled in and submitted.
The GRIHA Council team first reviews compliance of the project with the mandatory criteria and reject the project in the event
of non-compliance with such criteria.
The GRIHA Council team will then evaluate the optional criteria and estimate the total number of achievable points. All
compliance documents will be checked and vetted through the appraisal process as outlined by GRIHA.
The evaluation summary report is sent to members of the evaluation committee for GRIHA comprising of renowned sector
experts from landscape architecture, lighting and HVAC design, renewable energy, water and waste management, and building
materials. The evaluation committee members will vet the points estimated by the technical team. The evaluation committee
will then independently review the documents for the award of points. The evaluation committee may use the evaluation

summary report submitted by the technical team as a guiding document. The evaluation committee will award provisional
points and also comment on specific criteria, if need be. The evaluation report will be sent to the project proponent to review
the same and, if desired, take steps to increase the score. The report will elaborate on the results of the evaluation committee
along with its comments. The report will provide comments on each criteria and an overall comment on the entire report. The
client will be given one month's time to resubmit the document with necessary modifications /additions. The resubmitted
document will comprise only of the additional documents / information desired in the evaluation report. The resubmitted
documents will again be put through the vetting process described above. The evaluation committee will then award the final
score. The final score will be presented to The Advisory Committee comprising eminent personalities and renowned
professionals in the field for approval and award of rating. The rating will be valid for a period of five years from the date of
commissioning of the building. GRIHA Council reserves the right to undertake a random audit of any criteria for which points
have been awarded.

Certification fee
The registration cum rating fee (subject to review and modification every year) w.e.f. from July 1, 2008 is as follows:
For registration fees details.click here
The fee includes

Cost of GRIHA documents and templates

Third party evaluator fees

Professional time for one-day training workshop for all consultants involved in the project

GRIHA Secretariat costs for documents collection, assimilation, valuation and submission.

The fee does not include

Third party post occupancy (at the operational stage) audit by BEE certified energy auditor/agency

Travel and accommodation arrangements for 2 GRIHA Council officials for training workshop and minimum 3
site visits shall be arranged by project proponent.

Government taxes as applicable to be paid on the registration fee

Handholding/facilitation/consultancy necessary for rating

It may be noted that award of the rating is subject to fulfillment of all requirements as elaborated in GRIHA document.

Criteria and their weightage

GRIHA is a guiding and performance-oriented system where points are earned for meeting the design and performance intent
of the criteria. Each criterion has a number of points assigned to it. It means that a project intending to meet the criterion
would qualify for the points.
Compliances, as specified in the relevant criterion, have to be submitted in the prescribed format. While the intent of some of
the criteria is self-validating in nature, there are others such as energy consumption, thermal and visual comfort, noise control,
and indoor pollution levels which need to be validated on-site through performance monitoring. The points related to these
criteria (specified under the relevant sections) are awarded provisionally while certifying and are converted into firm points
through monitoring, validation, and documents/photographs to support the award of point.
GRIHA is a 100 point system consisting of some core points, which are mandatory, while the rest are optional.

Different levels of certification (one star to five stars) are awarded based on the number of points earned. The minimum points
required for certification is 50.

Points achieved
50-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100

GRIHA Rating