The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will issue completion certificates for buildings within 15 days of submitting applications, mayor Firhad Hakim has said.
The link to apply for a completion certificate in the new system will become available on the civic body’s website from July.
Hakim has also said the KMC has to cite a reason if it rejects an application for a completion certificate (CC). The reason, too, will be mentioned within the 15-day window.
The Telegraph has reported that the KMC was working on a plan for a single-window system to apply for a CC and collect the document.
The CC testifies that a house or an apartment building has been built according to the plan approved by the municipal corporation. It is a proof that there is no unauthorised structure in the building and there is no risk that the building or parts of it can be razed for violation of civic rules.
It is only after the building department of the KMC issues the CC that the drainage and water supply departments of the civic body provide water and drainage connections to the building.
“The last-mile connection between the house and the main drainage and water supply lines running in front of building are given only after the CC has been obtained by the owner,” said an official.
In case of an apartment block, the builder or the owner of the plot obtains the CC for the entire building from the civic body and a copy of the document is handed to buyers of all individual apartments.
“We will issue the completion certificates within 15 days of an application. If the application is rejected, the reason for rejection, which may be some unauthorised construction or objection from any other department, will be cited, too,” Hakim said.
“The 15-day deadline is part of the EoDB (ease of doing business) initiative,” he said.
The entire process will be done online. An applicant will no longer need to visit various government departments to obtain their NOCs. The application for CC is submitted online even now.
But the crucial difference that the introduction of the new system from July will make is that the applicants will no longer have to collect NOCs from other departments. At present the online application is made after all NOCs are obtained and attached to the application.
In the new system, one will apply for the CC and the KMC will procure the NOCs from the relevant departments before issuing the completion certificate.
All non-residential buildings and residential buildings with six or more floors need an NOC from the fire department.
The NOC from the chief electrical inspector is required for any building that has an elevator.
Large projects, ones that are spread across 20,000sq m or more, needs an NOC from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, said an architect.
The move will help everyone building a new house or an apartment complex. It will especially benefit owners of small plots who build one, two or three-storeyed buildings.
An architect or a real estate builder has employees who do the running around but others have to take the trouble of visiting all the relevant departments themselves.