The Hindu 07.01.2014
GHMC town planning services to go online
New service from Feb. 1, says Commissioner
Come February 1, all the services and permissions from
the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) town planning wing
will go online. The required software and paraphernalia is being set up
and trial runs have been scheduled to start from January 20.
Speaking
to presspersons here on Monday, GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar said the
online service would allow an applicant to furnish all the details and
upload required maps for seeking building and other permissions. The
required fee payment could be either made online through credit/debit
card or through demand draft at Mee Seva services.
“Most
of the complaints from citizens relate to town planning hence, we are
initiating this facility which will speed up the processing and also fix
accountability on officers concerned to act in time,” he said, adding
that a time frame for processing the applications would be fixed and
officials who delay beyond the same would be liable for a penalty of
Rs.50 per day.
An online application as it moves from
one officer to another and one section to another would get date
stamped, which would give a clear picture on the progress of processing.
“Our officials and staff who visit a site for inspection and
verification will have to click a picture and append it to the file and
thus entire history of the file is available at a click,” Mr.Somesh
Kumar said.
The new system when introduced would not
only ensure that citizens’ applications were not delayed unnecessarily
but also usher in transparency, he observed.
Meanwhile,
the Commissioner also decided to launch a campaign to spread
information and awareness on various regulations such as setbacks and
others to be followed for buildings. Apart from other modes, a booklet
with relevant information, guidelines and rule provisions, all
simplified for easy comprehension, would be launched soon, he said.
To tap social media
The
GHMC also decided to tap into the social media to receive complaints
and grievances and a mobile app was also being developed exclusively to
enable citizens send photographs related to lapses in civic amenities.
The
Commissioner also stressed the importance of receiving grievances and
feedback from the citizens for better functioning and spoke about
popularising the GHMC 24X7 grievance related toll free number 155304.
“We receive just 300 or so grievances daily which I feel is very little
compared to city’s size and a population of 70 lakhs,” he added.
