Thiruvananthapuram:: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala on Wednesday decided to recommend to the state Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to issue an ordinance to amend the panchayat-municipal rules to expedite the issuance of building permits.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The law is being amended so that the construction of a building can commence based on the certificate of its owner and the empanelled licensee authorised to prepare and submit the plan.

The empanelled licensee are architect, engineer, building designer, supervisor or town planner.

Upon receipt of the plan, the secretary of the local body must issue a certificate within five working days.

The draft Bill includes provisions that would consider this document as permit to start construction of the building,an official press release said.

The proposed law provides for fines and revocation of the licence if the information in the self-certification provided by the landowner or licensee is found incorrect at a later stage.

The fines would be Rs 2 lakhs for buildings with an area of upto 100 sq m, Rs 4 lakhs upto 200 sq m and Rs 6 lakhs for upto 300 sq m.

The building owner and the empanelled licensee must jointly certify that the building plan and the site plan comply with existing laws, regulations and other statutory provisions.

The proposed amendment would apply to houses less than 7 m in height, upto 2-storey high and less than 300 sq m in area.

It would also be applicable to hostels, orphanages, dormitories, old age homes, seminaries and religious buildings with a height of less than 7 m and a floor area of less than 200 sq m.

Construction of commercial buildings less than 7 m in height, upto 2 storeys and less than 100 sq. m in area, and also the construction of non-hazardous industrial buildings can be started on the basis of self-certification.

Also, the Cabinet decided to change the Panchayat/Town building rules requiring the local government secretary to take a decision within 15 days after receiving the application for the construction as against the present 30 days.