Bhubaneswar, Oct. 5: The local urban development authority is set to introduce a common application system to simplify the building plan approval process in the city.

The draft rules related to common application system, which were prepared by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) earlier this year, will be unveiled by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on October 6. Some of the major benefits of the upcoming rules are that there will be a 30-day time limit to complete the entire approval process and that "low-risk" buildings of up to 5,000sqft will not require any approval from the BDA. Any architect or technical expert will have the authority to give approval for construction of such buildings.

Major city buildings, including commercial ones, will also have to submit applications in the new format. The form will have specified sections from applying for change in use of land to obtaining no-objection certificates (NOCs) from various public agencies. Even such applications, which require the nod from various agencies, will have to be processed within 30 days.

Earlier, the building plan application procedure was lengthy and tiresome: the development authority and several other public agencies used to take about 86 days on an average to approve building plans. At times, the process used to extend up to a year or beyond. But now, the public agencies have been asked to prepare a standard operating procedure for the applicants and provide NOCs within three days.

"After the receipt of an application, we will forward it to various public agencies, such as the pollution control board, the airports authority, culture department and others. They will provide the NOC within three days, following which our officials will fix a date and inspect the site within 10 days," said a BDA planner.

Experts have welcomed the move and hope that a faster process of obtaining NOC from various stakeholder departments would also lessen the BDA's plan approval burden.

President of real-estate forum Afford, Umesh Pattanaik said the new process would not only save time but would also make the process more transparent and hassle-free. "I only hope that the new system will be followed in spirit," said Pattnaik.

Residents of the city also welcomed the initiative. "It is a welcome move of the government to exclude the low-risk buildings from such a tiresome plan approval process. It was really unnecessary to ask the small buildings to obtain NOCs from various public agencies. Such buildings do not disturb the environment or monuments," said Old Town resident Akash Nayak.

The BDA, which had drafted the new rules a year ago, had invited suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders to make the plan approval process people-friendly.