BHUBANESWAR: Come August 1, all building plan applications in the State Capital would have to be submitted to Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) through the online route.
The BDA, which was planning to automate the system, has decided to stop receiving manual application from July 31 and switch to e-Building Plan Approval Automation System (e-BPAS).
For a seamless transition, the BDA has designated its Citizen Service Centre at Samanta Vihar Market near Kalinga Hospital Square as the Building Plan Application Centre (BPAC).
The centre will assist citizens, architects and technical persons in use of e-BPAS system for submission of applications. While adequate staff will also be placed for the purpose, two different sets of scrutiny officers for BDA and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation will be deployed too.
To pave the way for the online system, the Housing and Urban Development had earlier notified Odisha Development Authority (Common Application Form) Rules 2016. The e-BPAS software was also developed to automate the processes of building plan approval.
The development agency said on Friday that a decision to shift to online application has been taken to ensure transparency and faster service delivery. It will also be consistent with the Ease of Doing Business plans of the State Government for the real-estate sector.
As per the rule, all the urban local bodies and development authorities of the State are mandated to issue building plan approval, layout approval, occupancy certificate through a single window system in a time-bound manner that uses a Common Application Form. The e-BPAS was developed as a pilot for Bhubaneswar and Puri.A helpdesk shall also be set up in BPAC to assist people in technical matters related to software use. The e-BPAS link will be available on www.bdabbsr.in, the official website of BDA.