Bhubaneswar, July 28: Getting your building plan approved in the city will become easier with the development authorities deciding to accept only online applications from August 1.
All applications for building plan approval, renewal, addition or alteration related to any structure will have to be submitted online via electronic building plan approval automation system (e-BPAS). Submission of manual applications ends on July 31 to ensure better transparency and faster service delivery in the real-estate sector.
The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), which had rolled out the plan on a pilot basis, is all set to implement the online service in a full-fledged manner.
From August 1, an applicant will have to visit the official website www.bdabbsr.in and click the planning and development tab and then access the building plan automation system and submit the application though a auto-guided process. The applicants can then submit the form both to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the BDA using the link.
According to the rules of the housing and urban development department, the BDA will deal with building plan applications of structures above 5,000sqft, while those below it will be handled by the BMC.
Moreover, to get the people understand the new system, the BDA will run a building plan application centre at Samanta Vihar in Chandrasekharpur. The centre will help citizens, architects and technical persons understand the online system.
"It was a long standing plan and we were rigorously working on it for the past few months. We have taken inputs of various stakeholders and also did a trial run of the system. Now it is ready for public use. The system will save a lot of time as well as resources," said BDA vice-chairman Krishan Kumar.
The housing and urban development department in October last year had notified the Odisha Development Authority (Common Application Form) Rules 2016. The rules come with a new plan approval system to be facilitated online using a common application form.
Earlier for getting a building plan approved, the applicants had to go through multiple agencies for no-objection certificates. Only then they could approach the BDA or the BMC for plan approval. The entire process took at least 80 days, while the new system will bring it down to a month, sources said.
City-based developer Sangram Nayak said the real-estate sector grew mainly in Bhubaneswar. "It is a good move of the government to make the process easier. The transition to an online environment is happening everywhere. The manual process attracts very few people. Introduction of the online building plan approval system will be a boon for the sector," said Nayak.
