Citizens and developers can soon look forward to earning property tax rebates by constructing eco-friendly buildings. The joint-select committee of the state government has approved the BMC's plan to offer incentives and tax rebates upto 50 percent on eco-friendly construction to achieve the goal of sustainable development. The proposal is now expected to be tabled during the monsoon session and once approved will take the form of a bill. "Since the Joint Select Committee has approved the proposal, we expect the formalities to be completed, if approved, it would help us implement the scheme,' said Additional Municipal Commissioner (projects) Anil Diggikar. Replicating the model from Pune Municipal Corporation, the BMC proposed eco-housing will be applicable to all residential buildings, complexes, single family residences and new construction as well as retrofitting in existing buildings. Among the top criteria will be site planning, environmental architecture, energy conservation, energy-efficient building materials, water conservation and solid waste management. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) and Science and Technology Park, Pune had formulated the technical criteria and a plan for implementing an eco-housing programme. Diggikar said that he was keen on water conservation. "Incentives encourage people to go for eco-friendly measures. While, new constructions can go for eco-housing projects, we will encourage retrofitting for old and existing buildings,' he said. "We will soon draw a plan for spreading awareness and encourage citizens to go for rainwater harvesting,' he added. The BMC is also planning to rope in NGOs which will help spread awareness for some financial benefits. "Rainwater harvesting is very important as we will soon exhaust the water resources. Even middle Vaitarna project, when completed, will not be able to suffice the water needs as the population of Mumbai will increase by then. So, these are the only measures which need to be explored,' Diggikar said.