BDA’s cumbersome manual building plan approval process draws ire, property owners demand it be made online like in BBMP

Those who refuse to pay bribes face harassment, additional demands, and prolonged delays. The process is also highly opaque, making it difficult for applicants to track the status of their submissions, a property owner said. 

Even as the city’s civic body has adopted a tech-driven online system, Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) cumbersome manual building plan approval system is resulting in massive delays in approval and corruption, property owners complain. 

“The BDA’s approval process is plagued by excessive delays, often taking months instead of the mandated 21 days. Unlike the BBMP, the BDA lacks an online platform for submitting and tracking applications, forcing applicants to rely on a manual system that is both inefficient and time-consuming. Bureaucratic hurdles are common, with applicants required to visit the BDA office multiple times and submit hard copies of documents, leading to unnecessary complications. The system has remained the same for years now,” said Prashanth, an applicant. 

Ramesh Kumar J. (name changed), an applicant, said only after paying ₹20,000 to an agent will one get approval from the authority. “According to the agents, they have to pay at least ₹12,000 to the officials for this work. As my approval process was being delayed, I engaged an agent after which I got the green signal in 20 days,” he said. 

Corruption is a major issue, as many officials allegedly demand bribes to expedite approvals. Those who refuse to pay bribes face harassment, additional demands, and prolonged delays. The process is also highly opaque, making it difficult for applicants to track the status of their submissions, a property owner said. 

The BBMP has implemented an online building approval system, significantly reducing processing times and minimising corruption. Earlier this year, the civic body has also introduced ‘Nambike Nakshe’, on the trust and verify model, where building plans issued by empanelled architects are deemed approved, without any intervention from civic officials. Citizens and urban planners are now urging the BDA to adopt similar reforms to modernise its approval process. 

A senior BDA official said the authority is working towards making the building plan approval process online to bring transparency in the system. “As of now, we have issued strict instructions to officials to approve building plans within 48 hours of the application. We appeal to property owners not to approach middlemen and instead lodge complaints if officials delay taking decisions on their applications or demand bribes,” the official said.