Bamboo shelters, cool roofs to climate-proof Telangana cities

Telangana is building climate resilience into urban planning, infrastructure and everyday municipal services. The goal is to help cities handle rising heat, irregular rainfall and resource pressures while reducing emissions. The plan covers urban local bodies across the State and supports the Telangana Rising 2047 vision.

Measures include a mandatory Urban Road Code, Cool Roof Policy, Heatwave Action Plan and Treated Water Reuse Policy. Cities are also adding shaded and cooled public spaces, using bamboo misting bus shelters, mining old waste dumps, detecting water leaks and expanding sewerage networks. Treated wastewater will be reused where possible.

The State Climate Centre for Cities will coordinate local action plans, data and technical support. A climate atlas will help identify vulnerable areas and guide investment. Of 43 Urban Challenge Fund projects, three are approved, while proposals for heat mitigation in Ramagundam and Adilabad are being prepared.

A cool roof is a roof designed to reflect much of the sunlight that hits it. This matters because less absorbed solar energy means less heat is transferred into the building. It is a relatively simple way to reduce indoor heat while also lowering pressure on cooling systems during hot weather.

Telangana’s policy states that cool roofs reflect about 80% of incoming sunlight. Conventional roofs reflect about 20%. The greater reflection limits how much solar energy the roof absorbs, helping reduce indoor temperatures by between 2.1°C and 4.3°C. Lower indoor heat can reduce dependence on air-conditioning.

The policy covers government and commercial buildings, plus homes on plots of at least 600 square yards. Compliance is linked to the Build Now approval system and occupancy certification. The government also has a three-year target for retrofitting all non-residential buildings.

Telangana’s Cool Roof Policy targets 300 sq km of cool roofs from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2028. The target includes 200 sq km in the Hyderabad metropolitan region and 100 sq km in other urban local bodies. This scale makes roof treatment a major citywide heat-management measure rather than a small building upgrade.

Cool roofs reflect about 80% of incoming sunlight, compared with 20% for conventional roofs. The policy estimates that they can lower indoor temperatures by 2.1°C to 4.3°C and reduce air-conditioning costs by up to 20%. Less heat entering buildings means cooling equipment needs less electricity to maintain indoor comfort.

Full implementation is expected to save nearly 600 million units of electricity annually. It could also generate a one-time carbon offset of about 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The policy is being applied through building approvals and occupancy certification.

Heatwaves threaten public comfort, health and urban services, while erratic rainfall makes city planning less predictable. Telangana reports that both patterns are becoming increasingly evident, with impacts varying by region. Cities therefore cannot rely on one identical solution everywhere; they need climate data to identify local risks and direct investments.

The State’s response includes a Heatwave Action Plan, cool roofs, shaded public spaces and urban greening. The Telangana Urban Climate Atlas is intended to identify vulnerable zones, prioritise investments and track climate indicators. Heat-mitigation proposals are being prepared for Ramagundam and Adilabad under Urban Challenge Fund financing.

The challenge is also tied to emissions. Telangana’s cities account for net emissions of about 66.56 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Buildings, transport, wastewater, waste management and urban expansion are major contributors. Climate planning must therefore protect people from weather extremes while changing the systems that add to the problem.

Reclaiming waste dumps reduces the pollution burden of old waste and returns unusable land to cities. Fixing water leaks cuts non-revenue water, meaning treated water is produced but does not reach paying users. Reusing treated wastewater reduces pressure on freshwater supplies and helps cities get more value from existing treatment systems.

Telangana’s bio-mining programme targets legacy waste dumps. It has avoided an estimated 5.6 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and reclaimed about 418 acres for productive urban use. The State is also using leak detection, pipeline renewal and digital monitoring to reduce non-revenue water. Underground sewerage networks are being expanded alongside wastewater reuse.

These actions address both emissions and service reliability. However, wastewater treatment remains incomplete: urban areas generate nearly 2,750 MLD of sewage, while 59 operational plants provide about 1,950 MLD of capacity. The State aims to treat 80% of sewage and reuse 20% of treated water by 2030.

The programme uses State-level coordination and city-level delivery. The State Climate Centre for Cities, located in the office of the Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration, will coordinate climate action plans, maintain climate data and provide technical support. Municipalities will use that support to plan and implement local projects.

Dedicated Climate Change Cells, city-specific action plans and nine Climate Action Officers are planned for Greater Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nizamabad, Ramagundam, Nalgonda, Mancherial, Mahabubnagar and Kothagudem. The Telangana Urban Climate Atlas will help officials identify vulnerable zones and monitor climate indicators. Representatives of 113 urban local bodies have already received capacity building.

The Urban Challenge Fund adds another financing route. Of 43 proposed projects, three have secured approval. The World Bank-supported Telangana Urban Transformation and Jobs Programme covers 29 urban local bodies and includes greening, shaded spaces and cool roofs. Together, these bodies connect policy, data, finance and implementation.

Urban climate resilience is a city’s ability to prepare for climate stresses, protect people and services, and recover while reducing future risks. In practical terms, design matters because roofs, roads, public spaces, drainage, water systems and waste facilities shape how strongly residents experience heat, rainfall disruption and shortages. Lower-emission systems also help limit the pressures driving climate change.

Telangana’s examples show how design can work. Cool roofs reflect sunlight and reduce indoor heat. Bamboo misting shelters give commuters shade and cooling. Urban greening and shaded public spaces can make shared areas more usable. Leak detection, pipeline renewal and treated-water reuse improve water efficiency, while bio-mining reduces methane emissions and reclaims land.

The State Climate Centre and Urban Climate Atlas are intended to match measures to local vulnerabilities. This matters because heatwaves and rainfall impacts vary by region. The approach is still developing: 43 Urban Challenge Fund projects are proposed, but only three have secured approval.