BMC Usurps BDA and All Geared to Approve Building Plans
Potential house owners to approach Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation for the approval of building plans instead of Bhubaneswar Development Authority.
Years’ ongoing practice of seeking approvals from Bhubaneswar Development Authority is now going to change with Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation stepping in. Pushpendra Singhdeo, housing and urban development minister is the present Chairman of the BDA Advisory Board and under his chairmanship, a decision was taken regarding BMC approving housing plans in the regions falling under its jurisdiction. The areas that lie outside the jurisdiction of BMC will be still catered by BDA. Almost 500 villages close to Bhubaneswar fall under the jurisdiction of BDA. Khurda and Jatni municipalities also lie under BDA jurisdiction.
As per Anant Narayan Jena, Mayor of the city, a planning section is soon going to be established before this responsibility is transferred between two authorities. According to him, this planning exercise is going to help a lot towards planned development as BMC is also responsible for providing various infrastructural facilities like drains and roads. According to the Government sources, bulk work is also going to be outsourced by BMC to a private firm specialized in town planning.
Currently, developers as well as individuals have to seek approval from BDA before any construction work is initiated. At the same time, they are also asked to get NOC or No Objection Certificate from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation for road and drains connectivity. According to a Senior Government Officer, lack of coordination results with two agencies getting involved, resulting in delays in the approval process. In order to curb this problem, 60 day deadline has been set for approving building plans as per the Odisha Right to Public Service Act. Despite setting this deadline, meeting this deadline becomes difficult for BDA.
The entire planning process can be streamlined with this move. This will also ensure that there will be no coordination hassles between BDA and BMC from now on. This hitch will surely come to an end with a single agency completing the entire task as stated by the Joint Secretary of CREDAI or Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, Mr D S Tripathy. Once Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation takes charge of its responsibility, the entire exercise will undergo in a streamlined manner.
Source:
The Times of India
BDA, Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India, CREDAI
