Chandigarh: “The Punjab Government as envisioned by the Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh is committed to the overall development and transformation of the urban sector with focus on the easing of processes so as to ensure that the people receive all the services in a hassle free manner.”

Disclosing this while presiding over a meeting here today with all the stakeholders especially architects regarding implementation of online building plans approval system, the Local Government Minister, Punjab, Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu said that streamlining the process of building approvals and putting them in online mode is just a part of the overall strategy being formulated to change the face of urban sector in Punjab. He also divulged that this game changer initiative of online building plan approvals system would be commenced initially in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Moga, Bathinda, Phagwara, and Pathankot.

Disclosing more, the minister said that only the specialized and qualified architects would be engaged in the job who would be working in close co-ordination with the 4 companies namely- Winsas, TCS, Softech and Tech Mahindra. He further said that the work of the companies would be thoroughly monitored and after few months, 2 companies would be given the job of implementing the novel project throughout the state based on their performance alone. Mr. Sidhu further added that with the new system being put in place, people would be able to get the maps of their houses at their homes itself and would be spared the ordeal of making rounds of the offices for getting their work done.

Emphasizing the strict adherence to the building by-laws, the minister said that the mechanism of lodging anonymous complaints would also be put in place. Listing another novel feature of the project, the minister said that in case a person doesn't receives any response from the government within 30 days of the submission of application for getting the map of the house passed then the map would be deemed to be automatically passed. He also said that a helpline number would also be operationalised to handle all the queries regarding the project.

On the occasion, Advisor to the Local Government Department Dr. Amar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Local Government Mr. Satish Chandra and the Director Mr. Kamal Kishore Yadav and representatives from Winsas, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Softech companies were also present.