Approval procedures to be streamlined by year-end

Pitching for expediting the approval procedures for construction projects, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today reviewed the progress made by various ministries to enhance the ease of doing business.
In an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Naidu, a decision was taken to conclude the process of streamlining approvals for construction projects in urban areas by the end of this year.
The meeting was attended by secretaries and senior officials of eight Ministries, including Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Urban Development, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Civil Aviation, Culture, Consumer Affairs, Defence and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma also attended the meeting.

Naidu reviewed the progress made by various ministries to enhance the ease of doing business for construction and housing projects in urban areas with respect to implementation of new urban sector initiatives like Housing for All, Smart City Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
It was decided in the meeting that the ongoing efforts will be completed and necessary notifications issued by the end of this year to enable urban local bodies to accord approvals in a specified time period.
On the decision of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to delegate powers to accord required approvals to urban local bodies, it was decided that a workshop will be held on September 21 to inform states and urban bodies on the modalities of using the delegated powers.