The Hindu 16.12.2010
HDMC gets ‘Best Practice Award’
Staff Correspondent
HUBLI: The initiatives taken by the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal
Corporation (HDMC) to provide quick and people-friendly service has been
recognised and it has been chosen for a State-level award.
The initiatives taken to introduce an automated building plan
approval system and implement volumetric tariff for water supply has
made HDMC eligible for the ‘Best Practice Award 2010′ under the city
corporations category.
The award has been instituted by the Karnataka Urban Development
Department in association with the City Managers’ Association,
Karnataka.
With the introduction of the Building Plan Approval Management System
(BPAMS) with Automatic Development Control Regulations by the HDMC,
residents can now get building permission within a week. Earlier they
had to wait for over 21 days to get the same.
Now, once a resident applies for building permission, the documents
and details furnished by him or her are uploaded to the corporation’s
database. If any violations of guidelines are found in them, the
applicant is called in for clarification. If the documents conform to
the guidelines, then the authorities will courier the building
permission to the applicant within seven days.
Envisaged in 2008, the designing and implementation of the BPAMS was
completed in November 2009. The system has been made mandatory for sites
with area of over 150 sq. m in approved layouts in Hubli and Dharwad
from April 1, 2010.
The volumetric tariff fixed for water supply in the twin cities has
also been appreciated by the Government. Unlike in the earlier system,
the tariff now depends on the quantity of water utilised by consumers,
and different slabs have been fixed to make it more transparent.
Officials of the HDMC are thrilled over the award, but at the same time they say it had increased their responsibility.
