Odisha has ordered development authorities, municipal corporations and urban local bodies to clear pending building plan applications under the Online Building Plan Approval System, or OBPAS, within defined timelines, warning that officials responsible for deliberate delays will face strict action.
Additional chief secretary of the housing and urban development department Usha Padhee issued the directions during a review meeting on the pendency of OBPAS applications in Bhubaneswar. The review examined delays across authorities and urban local bodies, with officials asked to identify procedural bottlenecks and take immediate steps to clear the backlog.
The department has directed authorities to conduct a data-driven assessment of delays at the authority and ULB levels. The exercise is intended to identify where applications are held up and fix responsibility for avoidable pendency. The government did not disclose the total number of pending applications in the material available for this report.
A key direction is the introduction of an escalation mechanism for applications pending beyond seven days. Such cases are to be reviewed at higher levels, allowing senior officials to intervene when applications are not processed within the specified period. Authorities have also been asked to improve digital file tracking so that the movement and status of applications can be monitored more closely.
The government also directed the team managing the SUJOG platform to strengthen its monitoring and tracking functions. SUJOG is being used to support digital delivery of urban government services, and the review called for a more transparent and dependable process for applicants seeking building plan approvals.
Padhee asked officials to provide applicants with clear information about approval requirements, procedures and timelines. Departments were told to avoid repetitive or unnecessary queries and to simplify guidance documents. The department also plans to widen public communication through digital platforms, explanatory videos and other information tools.
The instructions place the approval process within a broader effort to make urban administration more accountable and easier for citizens to navigate. Building plan permissions often involve multiple checks and departments, meaning that unclear requirements or repeated requests for information can extend the time between an application and a final decision. The directions issued at the meeting seek to make those stages more visible through digital tracking and escalation.
Padhee also suggested using technical expertise available at government engineering colleges and polytechnics to support planning-related processes. The nature and scope of this proposed support were not specified in the report.
Officials from development authorities, municipal corporations and other urban local bodies attended the review meeting. The next steps are for the concerned authorities to assess pending applications, strengthen tracking on OBPAS and SUJOG, escalate cases pending beyond seven days and assign responsibility for delays identified as avoidable.
