Sanctioning building plans in Rajarhat?s New Town will be easier with the introduction of an online service (AFP)

Building plans in New Town will be scrutinised and sanctioned online, a move never attempted before in the state.

Hidco, the Rajarhat township?s implementing agency that has been empowered to frame building rules and sanction construction plans, is developing a special software for the purpose. Till the software is ready, the sanctioning process will remain manual.

?Online scrutiny and sanction of building plans is common in other metros. In Bengal, we are the first to introduce it,? said Hidco managing director R.K. Tripathi. ?Once the system is in place, plans will be checked and cleared at the click of the mouse. People need not run after engineers and other officials to get their plans approved. The process will also eliminate the scope for error.?

If a plan has any fault, the computer will not only detect it but will also suggest possible corrections. ?Once we go online, it will take not more than a day to clear a plan for a residential building,? said a Hidco official.

The authorities have identified a two-storeyed building in Action Area I of the township that will house the Hidco wing dealing with building plans.

?We have prepared a set of building rules for the township in consultation with eminent town planners and architects,? said managing director Tripathi. ?The rules will be published and made available to the public soon. At the same time, we are setting up a team of engineers and architects to speed up the process of scrutinising plans.?

A plan will be sanctioned only if the panel gives a no-objection certificate. If it comes across a fault in the design, one of the members will be assigned to interact with the owner and point out how it could be fixed.

Hidco, however, will have no say over a plot-owner?s choice of architect in getting his building plan drawn up.

Officials said that in the manual process, a building plan is examined in a week, and a fortnight is required to sanction it.

?We expect to start the process within a couple of months. Thousands of people, who have bought plots in New Town, are waiting to start construction. We are taking all measures to clear the rush,?? Tripathi signed off.