The Calcutta Municipal Corporation will make it mandatory to apply for a building permit online from April 1 and convey its decision about the proposed building within 15 days, mayor Firhad Hakim announced on Saturday.

Some of the changes:

• A single window system is being created. The owner of a property or its architect will no longer need to collect no-objection certificates from various government and CMC departments. A common application form will have to be filled and the CMC will get NOCs from relevant departments. A few NOCs like that of the land ceiling limit have to be collected by the architect.
• The proposal will be cleared or rejected (with reason) within 15 days. Currently, the average time needed to obtain a building permit for large projects is 323 days.
• The architect will design and allow commencement of the construction of a building up to three-storey and whose land area is not more than 200sq m after giving a declaration that all rules were being followed. The CMC will check when the plinth level is ready.
• A real estate developer can allow flat owners to occupy a flat only after getting a completion certificate from the CMC.
• If an owner finds that any portion is still being built after the flat has been handed over, he/she can complain to the CMC and the developer will be penalised.
• There will be a trial run of the system from March 1 before it becomes mandatory from April 1.