It is a small step considering the extent of pollution in the city, but it has blazed a new trail in so far as organized environmental management is concerned.  An oasis of eco-friendly setting has come up in the Capital amid a pall of pollution everywhere – air, water, noise and what you have.

The Paharpur Business Centre (PBC), located at Nehru Place may not exactly be nature’s choice of how a pollution free environment should be but as island of eco-friendliness.  It is certainly creating a new awareness among commercial complexes and government offices.  Less suffocating and musty, it is different from the usual manner in which offices are maintained in different parts of the capital.

In fact, the difference strikes you the moment you enter the precincts of this business centre.  Wading through a maze of pollution, when one steps in PBC, one gets into a whiff of fresh air in stark contrast to the suspended particulate matters that the Delhi air forces one to breathe.  The clean air is striking indeed.

How has this been achieved?  “State-of-the-art filtration systems have been installed to make the place 99 per cent free of pollutants and make the indoor environment as good as a clean beach,” says Mr. S.L. Jindal, Deputy General Manager (Projects), PBC.

Emboldened by the success, PBC is in the process of acquiring ISO 14001 certificate for its environmental management system, which is being considered unique at the conceptual level.  If the certificate is awarded, it will, perhaps, be the first service industry firm in the country to achieve this honour.

Every detail has been punctiliously taken care of while planning the office.  “What we are doing here is tackling pollution-creating sources.  Clients are not allowed to smoke inside the premises.  Food and soft drinks can only be consumed in the open-air terrace café or in the ground floor restaurant.”  Says Mr. Jindal

The entrance to PBC is a doubledoor insulated with an invisible air curtain in between.  A visitor is welcomed with a wisp of air directed at his shoes before the second door swings open.  “You do not just wipe your feet on the mat, you blow dry them,” says Mr. Jindal.

Moppers and detergents are closely monitored and only water-based paint is used inside the all-wood building.  Woollen, not synthetic, carpet covers most of the green marble floor space.  High absorbency tissue rolls are used to avoid wastage, only CFL (condensed fluorescent lamps) are plugged in to save electricity, and natural fabric with small amount of synthetics for strength is used to drape chairs.

In addition, a treated fresh air unit with a built-in energy recovery device has been put in place to gain cent per cent airtight condition inside the building.  This does the job of washing, filtering and dehydrating the air outside before being pumped in.

So far, only some five-star hotels and a few individual offices have put such a system in place.  The operating theatre at Ganga Ram Hospital has one.

However, the price of maintaining this purified-to –the-last particle of air environment is quite high: at a huge Rs. 40,000 to 60,000 per person per month.

As regards the billing system, PBC has adopted a system prevalent at hotels.  Its clients are big business houses, which hire one or two cabins for as few days and check out after doing business.  It provides all facilities at a point and does not want its clients to worry about hiring manpower, telephone lines and travelling in or outside the city.  A cabin costs Rs. 1 to 1.25 lakh for a month.

The other striking feature of the centre is that not only does it care for 100 per cent pollution-free environment inside the cabins, it takes as much care of its surroundings.  It has adopted two parks of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, once a repulsive sight of garbage dumps, and turned them into lush green.

The leafy trees in the parks are pressure-sprayed with water which costs the company Rs. 24 lakhs a year.  Besides, the Center’s staff gets into top gear to fine-tune the premises when it closes for the weekend.  The carpets are vacuumed, dustbins are washed, tables are polished, brass is shined while cutting energy costs by operating only one lift.

The man behind this-all-new venture is Kamal Meattle, director of the centre.  He tried his luck in several fields before taking command at the PBC.

After graduating from MIT as a chemical engineer, he went to work for the US publisher Doubleday.  This was followed by perfumery chemicals and a stint at Standipack, an associate company of mother firm Paharpur Cooling Towers built by his father-in-law, Mr. Swaroop.  The Standipack makes environment-friendly flexible packaging for lubricating oils and holds several international patents.

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