The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has shifted the entire building plan approval process online and residents will be able to log on from next month. At present, citizens and real estate developers have to apply for approval, renewal or alteration of building designs manually. The process is cumbersome and time-consuming. The online process – the Building Plan Approval Automation System (e-BPAS) – will reduce the time taken to get the required permissions and also ensure transparency.
BDA sources said a new software had been developed to make the process citizen-friendly. To implement e-BPAS, a new office will be set up in Chandrasekhapur. “There will be dedicated officers to handle online applications. Citizens and developers will be made aware of how the software functions,” an officer of the BDA said, adding that all manual processes related to building plan approval would cease to work from July 31.
Official sources said the online system would lead to ease of doing business in the real-estate sector. The office where the online system will be made operational will be called the Building Plan Application Centre. There will be three teams that will scrutinize the documents online.