Inhabitants of the proposed ecotowns will lead lives of impeccable environmental righteousness. But, as we can reveal in this special green edition of On the Ladder, India is competing with Britain in the race to produce a carbon neutral 21st-century community. Yes, India, that nation of relentlessly rising CO2 emissions.

The West Bengal Housing Board was persuaded by an environmental consultant to build what is in effect a mini-ecotown. The newly completed Rabi Rashmi Abasan development in the New Town district of Calcutta, which covers an area of 1.76 acres, is completely solar powered, providing energy for the homes and sending surplus back to the national grid.

Each of the 25 homes at Rabi Rashmi Abasan will generate 2kW. India's Planning Commission says the country needs to generate an extra 700,000MW by 2030 to meet increasing electricity demand, which means that it will take 14 million such housing projects to produce this. Let's hope solar panels are compatible with monsoon.

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