The government will soon introduce a hassle-free Automated Plan Approval (APA) system to approve building plans for house construction on plots measuring up to 50/60 feet in the city, said Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
To be eligible for the new system, property owners, who are building homes, have to get the plan drawn up by empanelled architects. After readying the plan, they should upload the document into the system, which would automatically approve the plan after checking the documents. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been asked to devise the system to implement the scheme, Mr. Shivakumar said.
The new system is being brought in with the aim of reducing corruption, as the property owners would be required only to pay the fixed fees for approval and would not have to visit BBMP offices. Mr. Shivakumar said this would bring in more transparency. However, it is to home builders on sites measuring up to 50/60 feet and not to builders constructing apartments.
Boosting property tax revenue
To boost revenue from property tax, Mr. Shivakumar said the government was contemplating introducing a new system to replace the Self Assessment of Property Tax Scheme. He said Bengaluru has the potential to collect three times more than what it is currently earning. At present the civic body collects an average of ₹3,000 crore in property tax annually. Mr. Shivakumar alleged that owners are cheating the BBMP by declaring less property as against actual.
As part of this measure, the State government will issue digital property documents to property owners in the city after surveying the properties. The Survey, Settlement, and Land Records Department is already conducting a survey of properties under Urban Property Ownership Records (UPOR). BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath, talking to The Hindu, said UPOR data will be interlinked with BBMP’s data base, and this will help devise the new tax system.
