Thiruvananthapuram: Not a single application was processed by the
engineering wing using Intelligent Building Plan Management System (IBPMS)
software although its trial run had begun in
city corporation in June.
The corporation is now pushing for IBPMS as the single system for issuing building permit from October 1 after the engineering wing had conceded in the review meeting that applications were scarcely processed using IBPMS during the trial run, making it a pointless exercise.
Local self-government department (LSGD) had tied up with Kerala state industrial development corporation (KSIDC) to launch an automated intelligent online software for issuance of
building permits. The system was designed to work in such a way that the usual practice of officials listing down queries on each application would be done away with as the application would get uploaded only if it is as per the norms.
Besides online file tracking and monitoring were touted as added aspects, which will make each official involved in issuance of permit, accountable for unwarranted delays. The file will be monitored not just by the secretary of the corporation but also directly by the LSGD, making it necessary for each official to clear the files without any delay.
Lack of proper infrastructure and glitches in IKM software ‘Sanketham’ had often forced the town planning wing to go for manual method of processing building permits which opened up chances for deliberate delay in issuing permits. Sanketham software consumed a lot of time in screening the documents like land documents, receipt of payment of land tax, building plan and so on, the officials had pointed out.
The civic body is now planning for the extreme step of bringing main office and all zonal offices under IBPMS for building permits although reservations still exist. The inclusion of survey numbers is the main challenge as resurvey is yet to be done in five revenue villages and these numbers are to be incorporated into the software. There are also concerns regarding whether the sanctioned master plan and detailed town planning scheme have been integrated into the software.
“We plan to work with the experts of the private firm which has developed this software for the first 20 days in October mainly to address certain issues that are expected to surface. This software drastically reduces chances of manipulation and hence we are going for the system although there are concerns,” said a corporation official. The training programme for building designers and staff will be completed by Friday.
IBPMS is going to be a major improvement over Sanketham. “A major aspect is that all checklists would be done online, besides NoC procedures of various departments like pollution control board and fire safety department would be incorporated in the building permit software. It also has provisions for automated rule checking and plan can be uploaded in a format which can be easily reviewed. In Sanketham the format had to be PDF which meant that hard copies had to be brought directly for review,” an official said.
The town planning wing has also sought incorporation of sanctioned master plan and detailed town planning schemes in the new software.
