Jammu MC’s online building permission scheme flounders

JAMMU: Launched with much fanfare almost three-and-a-half years ago, the idea of granting online building permissions to people aspiring to construct residential and commercial structures seems to have lost its significance “due to tiring procedure full of corrupt practices”.

The decision to grant online building permissions to people was introduced on January 1, 2016. Tribune photo

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 17

Launched with much fanfare almost three-and-a-half years ago, the idea of granting online building permissions to people aspiring to construct residential and commercial structures seems to have lost its significance “due to tiring procedure full of corrupt practices”.

The decision to grant online building permissions to people was introduced from January 1, 2016, where it was decided to accept online building permission cases only. Under the procedure, the applicant has to download a building form and upload it with scanned copies of all relevant documents.

Thereafter, the JMC sends this form along with documents to the Jammu Development Authority (JDA), Revenue Department, Nazool Department, Power Development Department (PDD), Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, Town Planning Department and Sewerage and Drainage Department to seek NOC from all departments before its approval from the Building Operation Controlling Authority (BOCA).

However, the aspirants had been made to wait for months together to get their cases cleared because of coordination gap and tedious mechanism.

“I had made an online request for residential building permission case, but I am yet to get NOCs from all departments. Getting building permission is not an online procedure because applicants are forced to perform physical task. I had to take the official of each department one by one to my plot in the Greater Kailash area. The applicants are forced to perform pick and drop service for official of each department, apart from greasing their palm, for physical verification of the plot,” an affected applicant said.

“The worst experience was the Revenue Department where it would take months together to get the case cleared. I was made to move from pillar to post to get NOC from the revenue authorities as many a times either patwari was not available or other officers remained unavailable. It took almost three months to get this NOC. Similar is the procedure for other departments as well,” said another applicant who had sought building permission for residential building in Sainik Colony.

“Hundreds of cases have been lying pending with the Revenue, JDA and other departments but there is no mechanism with the administration to address this problem. Many a cases remain pending on monetary considerations. Nothing seems to have changed on ground. The people can get their NOCs after greasing the palms of officials assigned the duties of inspection,” they said.

Neither Deputy Commissioner Sushma Chauhan nor JMC Commissioner Pankaj Magotra was available for comments.