The state assembly on Monday unanimously passed the Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self-Certification System (TS-bPASS) Bill, paving the way for self-certification of buildings.
Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao, who introduced the Bill, said no other government in the country has introduced such a policy.
"Self-certification and deemed approvals make it a landmark legislation in municipal reforms," he said.
The minister said this would help the poor in urban areas to build houses, fast-track building permission process, bring transparency and root out corruption by doing away with the human interface.
The revolutionary reform, to be implemented in Hyderabad and all municipalities in the state, will bring a simple procedure, where approvals will be based on self-certification and onus of responsibility will be on citizens.
"This self-certification system is to make citizens responsible and ensure that they adhere to the building and layout permission rules of the state government," he said.
With this Bill, people in urban areas of Telangana will no longer need to seek permission for building houses in 75 square yards while instant approval based on self-certification will be given for residential buildings in plots up to 600 square yards.
There will be single window approval within 21 days for all layouts/buildings in plots above 600 square yards and height above 10 metres. On the 22nd day, the application will be deemed approved.
The TS-bPASS is modelled on the lines of TS-iPASS which was introduced in 2015 as a one-stop online system for the issue of industrial building permissions based on self-certification. The minister claimed that TS-iPASS is successful and attracted many industrial investments due to the easy approval system.
The law will also have a penalty clause. Penalties will be imposed on officials who are found responsible for delay in giving approvals.
Like TS-iPASS, it is a time-bound online approval single window system. It is an online application system which is accessible via mobile app, website https://tsbpass.telangana.gov.
Individual residential building permissions are given instantly online, based on self-certification.
People constructing a building within 75 square yards of land with a height of up to seven metres need not obtain any permission from the municipal offices but have to register with the urban local body using TS-bPASS.
Citizens constructing houses in 75 to 600 square yards and height up to 10 metres can seek instant permission for constructions through self-certification under TS-bPASS and start their construction work.
All building permits issued based on self-certification will be put on TS-bPASS website and if any citizen has any objection, he can file the same within 21 days.
While making an application for registration or self-certification approval, the applicant will declare that in case of any wrong information or violation of rules, the authorities concerned can demolish the construction without any notice.
The district level special task force committee headed by the District Collector or Zonal Commissioner in Hyderabad shall verify all approvals issued on self-certification basis and in case of any misrepresentation of facts, the permission will be cancelled.