Thiruvananthapuram: Aadhaar, even after the Supreme Court verdict on Wednesday, is still cited as an important reason by building supervisor licensees, who have been resisting the new building permit software.
Only licensees who submit Aadhaar card, in addition to the copy of their licenses, will be allowed to use the software called Intelligent Building Plan Management System (IBPMS).
"Earlier our license copies would suffice, but now we need to submit Aadhaar as well. We are not against the new system, but we find this unnecessary," says Nixon V. Benedict, president, Registered Building Designers' Association of Kerala.
The licensees will become liable to pay income tax for every building permit, and this is making them anxious, according to Corporation officials.
Recently, Mayor V K Prasanth had decided that by the start of October, the software will be made mandatory across the Corporation.
Earlier, Sanketham was the software used for building permits. When IBPMS was rolled out on a trial basis, the Corporation received very few applications through IBPMS, as Sanketham was still running.
This is the reason why the Corporation decided to phase out Sanketham.
The software will iron out a lot of issues with building permits, according to Corporation officials.
Since, the progress of the file can be tracked online, if any official delays its movement, the authorities will be able to take action against them.
Moreover, people will be able to view the progress of the file, making it a very transparent system.
Several building designers appear clueless about the software, though launched in July. Some like Vijesh V, Director, Innovate Designers Builders, say that they have not received training to use the software. Corporation officials say that they have been training everyone who sought it.
"So far we have trained around 80 people. Moreover, we have scheduled additional training sessions on September 27, 28 and 29," an official says.
Another issue licensees and building designers have with the software is that it requires them to make drawings in original Autocad software. Many have been making do with the pirated versions of the software. The original is going to cost them more than Rs 25,000, they say.
"They refuse to be accountable, and that's the stem of all issues," an official says.
