Hyderabad: Building permits net Rs 526 crore

Hyderabad: The municipal corporation has earned Rs 526.64 crore by way of building permissions for 2016-17. The total number of construction applications approved is 8,704, as against 6,844 during 2015-16.

The Rs 500 crore plus earned was collected towards building permit fee, development charges, and betterment charges and additional Rs 30 crore towards proportionate layout charges, as against Rs 515.23 crore during 2015-16.

Layout regularisation generated another Rs 196.27 crore. Presently, the entire process of application, including process, payment of fee, release of building permit order and plans is completely online.

The system sends SMS alerts to citizens with regard to status of application thereby, avoiding personal contact with officials of GHMC.

“The online process helped in quick disposal of permissions, resulting in smooth transition from manual system to online system. During financial year 2016-17, out of 8,074 permissions issued, 6,158 permissions were issued through DPMS (online approval system) and thus, it shows the ready acceptance of the new system by citizens. The average time taken for disposal of applications is 22-27 days, as compared to 30-40 days earlier,” said GHMC commissioner Dr B. Janardhan Reddy. GHMC approved following major projects during financial year 2016-17.