The process of building permissions in the city has slowed down due to various reasons, including vacant posts, absence of environmental appraisal committee and successive elections, among others.
Worried applicants of permissions are found making rounds of the GHMC head office every day but still unable to get their applications cleared in time.
Building permission fee being the second largest source of revenue for the corporation after property tax, officials are usually in a hurry to clear applications and generate maximum possible revenue this time of the year.
However, now that all officials are busy with preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections, there is no pressure of meeting the year-end targets. Sources informed that the revenue this year, even with successive elections, has been ₹125 crore in excess of that of previous financial year.
Several applications of building permissions, which could have improved revenues further, are pending with the Special Deputy Collector - Land Acquisition (SDC- LA), a post which has been vacant since the 2018 Assembly elections.
An SDC is posted on deputation from the revenue department and is responsible for verification of title deeds besides acquisition of land and payment of compensation there of.
Before the Assembly elections, the then SDC was transferred as he put in more than three years of service.
As a rule, before elections, the appointees to the position of Returning Officer should be moved from the place they have served for more than three years.
The officer deputed in his place later, was immediately put on election duty, which did not leave her much time for clearance of applications. For reasons unknown, she too, was transferred immediately after her election stint, which had left the position vacant since then.
Though another official has been given the charge on a temporary basis, she went on medical leave, leaving the burden on Deputy Tahsildar cadre staff, who are technically not authorised to do the job.
Sources informed that about 35 to 40 applications for building permissions are pending as of now, which do not include clearances granted as part of Layout Regularisation Scheme. Property acquisitions for various ongoing projects in the city too, are suffering from tardy progress because of vacant position. The commissioner had reportedly made a representation to the CCLA office to fill it.
One more obstacle coming in the way of permissions for big projects is the absence of a state-level expert appraisal committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. About 15 to 20 such projects are in limbo for want of that panel. A proposal in this regard has been forwarded to the Union ministry for clearance, sources said.
