Srinagar: Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, Tuesday chaired a crucial meeting to discuss the draft of the ‘Jammu and Kashmir Building Permission (Rural Areas) Procedure, 2025’, a first-of-its-kind framework designed to regulate the building activities across the rural areas governed by Halqa Panchayats.
The meeting was attended by Director RDD Kashmir, Shabir Hussain Bhat, Director RDD Jammu, Mumtaz Ali, Director Panchayati Raj Sham Lal, Director Finance, Umar Khan, Joint Director Planning, Kamal Kumar Sharma, Superintending Engineer REW Kashmir, Aamir Ali, Superintending Engineer REW Jammu, Rajesh Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Tahir Ahmad Magray and others.
The Secretary emphasised that the new procedure has been anchored in a robust legal framework drawn from the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 and the Rules of 1996. “Section 12 (2) (iv) of the Panchayati Raj Act empowers Halqa Panchayats to regulate the buildings, shops and entertainment houses while as Rules 155 and 156 require mandatory approvals for construction, reconstruction or alterations’ The Secretary said that this framework brings a long-awaited legal and procedural clarity to the rural construction. “It ensures accountability and offers a citizen-friendly mechanism that truly empowers the grassroots,” he added. The new procedure applies to all Halqa Panchayat areas across Jammu and Kashmir, excluding areas under Municipal Corporation/ Council/ Committee, Tourism Development Authority or other empowered authorities. It will come into force upon official notification by the government. The framework covers all types of construction activities including new constructions, extensions, alterations, reconstructions, changes in building use and reconstruction due to fire, collapse or demolition. The Secretary emphasised that citizen convenience should remain paramount while maintaining regulatory standards.
During the deliberations, the Secretary directed the officials to expedite work on the Online Building Permit System (OBPS) to ensure applications are processed digitally, transparently and efficiently. He stressed the importance of maintaining detailed records of all permissions granted besides creating a robust monitoring mechanism to track compliance. Aijaz Asad said, once notified, all officials will adhere to the 30-day cycle for processing applications, 15 days for internal review, 10 days for decision-making and 5 days for communicating outcomes. “This framework is not merely regulatory, it is transformational. It restores people’s trust, strengthens Panchayati Raj and brings a structured, rule-based approach to rural development,” maintaining the Secretary.
The Secretary instructed all the concerned officers that the Competent Authority should refer to comprehensive technical guidelines when activities are not specifically covered in the J&K Rural Building Bye Laws. He outlined a hierarchical reference framework to ensure consistent and comprehensive decision-making across all rural construction projects. He specified that officers should refer to the requisite documents in a sequential order. These included J&K Unified Building Bye Laws 2021 or Model Building Bye Laws of MoHUA, GOI New Delhi. Guidelines National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, 2006, Guidelines for the provisions of Facilities in the buildings for Person with disabilities and ECBC Code for Energy Conservation Building.
