Boosting construction sector: Punjab fixes timelines for issuance NOCs

ISLAMABAD: In order to facilitate the construction sector and general public, the Punjab government has fixed timelines for grant of approvals No Objection Certificates (NOCs) of building plan, completion certificate, land use conversion and private housing schemes by concerned departments.

An order issued by Punjab Chief Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik, a copy of which is available with The News, warned that non-adherence to the timelines without reasonable cause may be treated as misconduct. The notification takes effect from June 15.

It comes in the wake of the federal government’s package for the construction industry, announced in April, to increase employment opportunities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was meant to end the partial lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus.

The timelines for approval of building plan, completion certificate, land use conversion and private housing scheme have been fixed for the metropolitan corporations, development authorities, Punjab Housing & Town Planning Agency and concerned agencies/bodies to follow while fulfilling all legal formalities.

According to the notification, the building plan of individuals’ residential, commercial and industrial constructions will be approved in 30 working days. The completion certificate will be issued/given approval in 30 working days; and the land use conversion will be sanctioned in 45 working days.

The development authorities will approve the private housing schemes in 60 working days while the metropolitan corporations will do the same in 75 working days.

The notification said that the metropolitan corporations, development authorities and Punjab Housing & Town Planning Agency shall adhere to this administrative arrangement while remaining within their respective rules, regulations or by-laws. The administrative departments, authorities and agencies shall ensure approval of appropriate legal framework, where required, to make it also legally binding in shortest possible time.

The copies of the notification have been sent to the secretaries of the departments of the Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering (HUD&PHE), Local Government and Community Development (LG&CD), environment protection, industries, cooperatives, and irrigation; and all commissioners, administrators of local governments and deputy commissioners.

While announcing the package, Prime Minister Imran Khan had stated that those who invest in the construction sector will not be asked questions about their source of income. Fixed tax will be introduced, and if anyone invests in construction projects under Naya Pakistan Housing Authority, ninety percent fixed tax will be removed and he will have to pay only 10pc tax.

Withholding tax on materials and services was abolished in the informal sector. Tax will be collected only on steel and cement, mainly because these are the formal sectors. Sales tax will be brought down in coordination with the provinces. There will be no capital gain tax for a family that sells its house. A Construction Industry Development Board is also being set up to promote the construction industry.

The Services & General Administration Department constituted a committee in line with the policy of the federal government to support and facilitate construction sector by way of timely approval of layout and construction plans; issuance of requisite NOCs by concerned departments and agencies and completion of allied formalities.

It was tasked to review legal mechanism and existing processes in local governments under the LG&CD department and development authorities, Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency working under the Housing, Urban Development and HUD&PHED and submit proposals for approval of layout plans for individual construction requests (building plan approval/construction permit), land use conversions and private housing schemes in a time-bound manner.

The committee found that multiple agencies are involved in the approval process which included primary agencies responsible for granting approvals/sanctions and secondary agencies which provide NOCs and allied certificates under various laws, rules and regulations to the primary agencies for completion of the approval processes.

The primary and secondary agencies work independently and there is no single platform where such agencies may coordinate. A citizen has to file independent applications in all such agencies particularly the secondary agencies to seek various NOCs. It usually takes many months for the same. After seeking all necessary NOCs, a citizen is required to submit application to either of the primary agency to get final approval. This makes the existing arrangement/approval regime highly cumbersome and results in inordinate delays. The objective behind forming the committee was to facilitate citizens by ensuring approvals by time-bound processes through one-window operation.

It was revealed that primary agencies have different sets of rules and regulations, follow different processes and have different categories. It was felt that in short-term, instead of undertaking extensive amendments in ongoing legal frameworks of these agencies which requires sufficient time, the processes may be mapped as per existing rules and timelines may be reduced by putting the processes on fast track and ensuring concurrent processes by both primary and secondary agencies. The task of amending rules, which requires cabinet decision, would be undertaken in second stage to further reduce NOCs and number of documents required.

The committee suggested that a citizen or his authorised representative can get all relevant information from the web portal, mobile app and call center and even through SMS. Afterwards, he may submit application in the Punjab Information Technology Board’s Khidmat Center. From there the application will be transmitted to the primary agency and all relevant secondary agencies concurrently. The agencies will convey observations for any missing information electronically to primary agency, within ten days, which will be conveyed to the applicant through SMS. Afterwards, approval process will be completed as per given timelines. The citizen can collect its approval letter from the Khidmat Center either himself or through his authorised agent.