BBMP set to launch hassle-free online plan approval system

Getting a building plan approved is set to become a hassle-free affair as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is revamping the process with a new software, in line with the state government’s effort to enable ease of doing business.

It was seven years back that the civic body installed an Online Building Plan Approval System (OBPAS), through which citizens could submit building plans for approval online. The new system will take the entire process online, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said.

“The present system is only partially online, making citizens prone to harassment. Only submission of plans is online whereas approval at different levels is offline due to which there are no fixed timelines. In the new system, specific time-frames will be fixed at each level,” he said.

Explaining how the new process will work, Prasad said, “There are at least five stages in the plan approval process. The file goes through an assistant director, deputy director, joint director, special commissioner and finally, it reaches me.

“We will now fix specific timelines for the plan to be cleared at each level. If it is not adhered to, the system will lock and go to the next level. Citizens will also receive SMS and email alerts letting them know if any clarification is required.”

Streamlining building plan approvals is a reform the state government has initiated after Karnataka slipped to the 13th position in the ‘ease of doing business’ ratings, last year, down from 9th in 2015.

The Karnataka Municipal Corporations Common Building Bye-Laws 2017 has proposed self-certification (or deemed approval) of building plans. “All urban local bodies in the state will have to come up with software to make plan approval process online,” Town and Country Planning director L Shashikumar said.

The BBMP also plans to link the new building plan approval system with its Geo-spatial Enabled Property Tax Information System (GEPTIS).

“The new software is undergoing trials and will be ready in 15-20 days,” Prasad said.

Vidyadhar S Wodeyar, principal architect, Arch Plan Architects, hailed the BBMP’s acknowledgement that the present system caused harassment to citizens.

“The existing building bye-laws states that a plan is deemed approved if it is not cleared in 30 days. However, officials usually find some fault and extend it by another 30 days. I hope the new system addresses this loophole,” Wodeyar said.