Get construction nod in a day under Mumbai ‘ease of doing business’ policy

The online approval system adopted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation hastens the process by reducing paperwork.

To boost speed and transparency, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started approving building permit applications online under the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ policy. The new system is already a hit among developers.

The new policy is already a hit among developers in Mumbai. (Abhijit Bhatlekar/ Mint File)

It has enabled the civic body to approve building construction-related applications in a week to maximum 40 days, and in some cases, in a day, say civic officials.

This progress is attributed to the online approval system which has increased transparency, said Sanjay Darade, chief engineer, development plan department.

The system also reduces paperwork since BMC has reduced the earlier requirement of 119 no-objection certificates (NOC), remarks, and other permissions to 58.

Under the new system, personnel from various departments of the civic body also go for site inspections simultaneously, thus accelerating the process.

Builders and citizen activists have often pointed out how the delays in granting various permissions have led to corruption in the civic body. James John, activist from Action for Good Governance and Networking in India said, “Anything online definitely brings in transparency which then reduces corruption. This online system can change it provided there is absolutely no physical contact between the builder and civic officer.”

The civic body has provided tools to calculate the exact processing fees at each step. It is now also accepting third-party audits or remarks and also self-certification in some cases.

Nayan Shah, president, Credai MCHI said, “It is true that the civic body’s online process for building permits has been fast and transparent. However, this only helps in cases of smaller projects.”