Hyderabad, Nov 2 (IANS): With India being among the top five countries in terms of green buildings, the country should aim to make its 4,500 cities and towns environmentally friendly to enable it to grow in a sustainable manner, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.

In his inaugural address at the 16th Green Building Congress here organised by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Puri said that with growing urbanisation, half of India's population will be living in cities by 2050.

"India's 4,500 cities and towns must all be green for India to grow in a sustainable fashion. The government, building sector, and stakeholders must all work together to provide green solutions," he said.

"By 2030, 40 per cent of our population will be living in cities and by 2050, this will rise to 50 per cent. Therefore, it becomes imperative to plan and conceive these cities as green, right from the initial stages."

Underling the importance of sustainable green development in her address, World Green Building Council Chairperson Lisa Bate said: "On a global scale, buildings today produce 33 per cent of GHG emissions and consume 40 per cent of energy. Two to five times more pollutants are found inside buildings as compared to the outdoors."

The Minister presented IGBC's highest category Green MRTS ‘Platinum' award to three Hyderabad Metro stations - Rasoolpura, Paradise and Prakash Nagar.