Getting approvals for buildings to be easier soon with single-window system

October 22, 2014 08:26 am | Updated May 23, 2016 04:50 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

The task of getting approvals from different civic agencies for buildings is likely to get easier with new and dynamic building bye-laws in the offing. The Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Tuesday organised a workshop where experts, architects, consultants, and citizen bodies gave suggestions on simplification of the existing building bye-laws.

The objective of the workshop was to invite suggestions to make the bye-laws simpler and user-friendly paving the way for electronic processing for sanctions.

The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) had formed a committee to rework the bye-laws and the draft bye-laws so prepared have now been in public domain on the website of the DUAC, DDA and MoUD inviting suggestions.

At the workshop on Tuesday, Sonali Bhagwati, member, DUAC, and chairperson of the building bye-laws committee, said, “One of the first things I did while studying architecture was reading the bye-laws and interpreting them. No matter how many times you read the bye-laws, you never get them right and changes are to be made over and over again with every authority you approach with your building plan. There comes the concept of middlemen, who would interpret it, know someone in the authorities concerned, and get the work done. So we thought, why not make the bye-laws simple. We would like suggestions that lead us to simple 10-15 page bye-laws.”

Emphasising a single-window system, Ms. Bhagwati said there are anomalies between various agencies. For example, even if you get the bye-laws right you have to meet the requirement of the fire department which would be out of sync with those of say of the airport authorities.

DDA vice-chairman Balvinder Kumar also advanced the idea of a single-window system.

Durga Shanker Mishra, member, DUAC, and Additional Secretary, MoUD, said the stakeholders have a “historic opportunity” to suggest changes to simplify the bye-laws. He expressed his disquiet over the manner in which Delhi is spreading. “There are hardly a few high-rises in the city. We are just spreading. Delhi is a seismic zone, but why can’t we have high-rises? We must plan,” he insisted.

Shankar Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, was of the view that it was time to take care of urban areas.

“Over the last 50 years, focus has been on rural region because a large number of people live there. But now it is time to take care of our urban areas. That is how we can accommodate more people coming to urban areas and make economic progress,” he said.

On the single-window system, he said all agencies should work in tandem. “We cannot take citizens of this country for a ride,” he said.

“Unfortunately, our city is deteriorating every day. In view of the rapid urbanisation, the government has taken four initiatives. The first is the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, which requires perseverance, patience and passion; second is rejuvenation of heritage towns; then urban renewal of 500 cities; and the fourth big-ticket idea is development of 100 smart cities.”

“I am very happy that the DUAC and the DDA have put this together as town planning is central to urban development. Over a period of time, town planning has become very static. We have got to create a document which is dynamic, market-driven, and work for the citizens rather than being a document for the architects and municipal officials ,” said Mr. Aggarwal.

He said it needed to be ensured that the bye-laws are transformational, citizen-friendly, and take advantage of technology. The language of provision should be very simple. The procedure for application should be electronic. Ms. Bhagwati demanded that “the bye-laws should be such that they only define the development controls. If a person is not violating urban parameters, why should he be bothered? The existing bye-laws are so difficult that people have to take help of middlemen who fit like a spoke in the wheel and also become a cause for delay.”

“We also want to do away with redundant provisions and make ones that all those notifications which are not in the public domain would not be applicable while seeking clearance. At present, if a notification is brought in, it is not made public, but while applying for clearance, it is considered. How is someone supposed to know about something that has not been made public? The draft bye-laws also have references to the national building code,” she informed.

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