'e-naksha' portal non-operational for two weeks; applicants face harassment
Rajmeet Singh
Chandigarh, October 11
A huge backlog of e-approvals to building plans through the “e-naksha” system (an online building plan approval system) in 165 urban local bodies has been piling up in the state’s Local Government Department as the portal has been non-operational for the past two weeks.
Sources in the department admitted that owing to technical glitches, the much-touted ‘e-naksha’ was not processing layout plans.
Problem with main server
The portal has been facing glitches as there has been an issue with the main server and it is being sorted. A private company has been given the contract to run the portal. If the system does not become functional soon, an alternative will be worked out.
Senior Official, Local Govt Dept
On an average, around 2,000 applications for approval of building plans are received online on a daily basis. If the applications for NOCs and CLUs are added, the figure would be much higher.
Patiala resident Saurabh Gupta said the government was not bothered about the problems being faced in getting approvals of building plans though the portal.
Over the last two weeks, hundreds of complaints have been pouring in from different cities about the portal facing teething problems, causing not only harassment to property owners but also financial loss to the department.
Jasmeet Singh, president, Building Designers’ Association of Punjab, said people were being harassed due to the non-operational portal.
“The system is controlled from state headquarters. Applicants in urban local bodies (ULBs) across the state have been left at the mercy of the state headquarters,” he said.
