Paperless submissions in the works

22/09/2005 The Star

APPLICANTS of building and renovation plans will be able to submit paperless applications to City Hall by the end of the year.

A City Hall delegation, led by Mayor Datuk Ruslin Hasan, visited New Zealand and Australia in June to see how the local authorities of Auckland and Melbourne use the digital submission method to improve their delivery system.

“We are on the verge of implementing the digital submission system,” he said after attending City Hall’s 36th Directorate Day celebrations at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa recently.

Planning and Building Control Department director Mahadi Che Ngah said once the system was ready, applicants would be able to submit their documents using CD-ROMs, diskettes or other digital formats at the City Hall building.

At present, applicants are required to bring along their building and alteration plans and documents when submitting or dealing with any development matters at the department’s office.

“The digital submission through computer will increase the efficiency of the department. We will inform our clients of the new system and come up with a set of guidelines for them to follow. We also need to teach our officers to use the system,” he said.

According to Mahadi, the applicants will also have the convenience of checking the status of their applications on the City Hall’s website soon. However, he said they would still have to submit their documents at the City Hall building.

On gated communities, the Datuk Bandar said City Hall was studying a suggestion by Real Estate and Housing Developers Association to reduce or waive assessment rates for gated residential areas.

He said the association felt that since the developers were maintaining most of the roads and infrastructures in gated housing areas, it would be justified that assessment rates be reduced.

“They want to be responsible over the roads and undertake the maintenance of the roads. On City Hall’s part, we can direct our funds to elsewhere. The question is whether gated communities shall pay the same amount of assessment as other areas.

“However, our study in Auckland showed that they still have to pay assessment although they undertake their own maintenance,” he said.