Nagaland holds first joint session on Online Building Permission System

Municipal Affairs Department official website launched

Kohima, August 7 (MExN): The two-day first joint session on the Nagaland Online Building Permission System (OBPS) was held at Hotel de Oriental Grand, Kohima on August 6 and 7. 

The programme was organised by the Directorate of Municipal Affairs, Government of Nagaland, in collaboration with the Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, stated a DIPR report.

Inaugurating the programme on the second day and also the official website launch, Advisor for Urban Development & Municipal Affairs, Zhaleo Rio, IAS (Retd), stressed the need for strict enforcement of building bye-laws to ensure proper ventilation, lighting and drainage in urban areas.

“All developmental activities need to be properly regulated, based on proper Building Bye-Laws, to ensure proper air and light between buildings, as well as to allow good drainage,” Rio said. He informed that the Nagaland Building Bye-Laws 2026 were currently in their final stages.

The newly launched departmental website will serve as a public platform providing general information on the state's 39 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), including their structure, activities and key contact details. It will also host various rules, regulations and advisories.

A significant feature of the website is its mandate to enable ULBs to publish audited accounts in the public domain, a prerequisite for availing grants recommended under both the Central and State Finance Commissions.

The inaugural session began with a welcome address by Director of Municipal Affairs, Temjenrenla Kechu, who set the context for implementing the OBPS in Nagaland. Associate Planner, TCPO, Sudeep Roy, made a presentation on the system, while State Informatics Officer, NIC Nagaland, I. Lanusungkum Aier, provided an overview of the platform.

Technical sessions during the workshop focused on synchronising the Draft National Building Bye-Laws 2026 with the proposed e-Development Control Regulations (e-DCR) for Nagaland. Experts from the Directorate of Municipal Affairs, Urban Development Department, NIC and TCPO deliberated on the Model/State Building Bye-Laws and the mandate for implementing OBPS across states.

Participants were taken through the OBPS workflow, including user interface, process flow, authorisation controls, digital certificate integration and online signing procedures. Officials from various line departments joined discussions on departmental roles, service integration and requirements for issuing online building permits through the platform.

Afternoon technical sessions covered Building Plan Approval drawing standards, layer conventions, standardised colour coding, head and sub-occupancy classifications and digital drawing formats.

The second day commenced with a recap of the previous sessions, followed by live demonstrations on CAD layer conventions, standardised colour coding, feature classification and occupancy standards. Hands-on sessions enabled participants to work on digital drawings under the guidance of experts from NIC Meghalaya and TCPO.

Sudeep Roy spoke on the trajectory of advancement in the construction permit regime across the country and how the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has assisted northeastern states in adopting advanced practices through the NE-OBPS initiative.

Subsequent sessions focused on implementation preparedness, including testing of drawing lists, rule-engine validation, testing schedules and launch timelines. Joint consultations were held to address critical issues and finalise the roadmap for rollout.

The workshop concluded with the compilation of recommendations and deliberations on the next phase of preparedness.