CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is planning to digitise its 26,143 files and has sought the assistance of the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot). The files will be digitised using microfiche, a flat piece of film containing microphotographs of the document and microfilm.
According to official sources, the CMDA has already paid Rs 1.07 crore for commencing the digitisation work. “The work is yet to commence. The plan is to digitise the files in the area plans unit. Work will be started once the new office in tower-II is ready as the files will be stored there,” said sources. Meanwhile, the CMDA’s efforts to bring the entire planning process in an online mode is being slowed down.
Officials said, “There are five processes in filing the planning permission online. The first is logging into the system and filing the application with assistance of an architect, during which the drawings are pre-checked. The next stage is scrutiny of plans. Any defects or errors will be communicated to the applicant. An acknowledgement will be generated and in the next stage the assistant planner will inspect the site. After this, the plan will be scrutinised and sent to the deputy planner.
In case of defects, it will be communicated to the architect immediately. Once rectifications are done, the file will be sent to either the deputy planner or senior planner or the chief planner and then to the member secretary in case of approval or refusal as per the delegation of powers.” The idea is to integrate planning permission and building permission among the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), CMDA, local bodies under the commissionerate of Municipal Administration, Greater Chennai Corporation, Directorate of Town Panchayats and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, in the Comprehensive Construction Portal.
The web portal will be citizen-oriented to facilitate transparency, comfortable filing from the end user’s side and also keeping digitised records for future use. It is learnt that the CMDA, while issuing delivery challan, wants the hard copy of the plan submitted manually, and this has been opposed by developers who fear enforcement of red tape and square feet culture. The other issue is that the approved plan has to be transferred to the Chennai Corporation or local bodies. Currently, this is not feasible as the local bodies are yet to be linked.
Use of the web portal
The web portal will be citizen-oriented to facilitate transparency, comfortable filing from the end user’s side and also keeping digitised records for future use