The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started digitising all building blueprint files it has approved in the last 10 years in order to make applications for and issuance of building constructing permits online.

The Building Permit Section at the KMC is entering all the data related to building construction from the fiscal year 2005/06 on to a software. The data had previously been stored in hard copy at KMC’s old office in Bagh Durbar. “Forty thousand of the total 150,000 building permit files of the last 10 years are at KMC’s Bagh Durbar office,” said Ram Thapa, chief of Building Permit and Land Use Division.

The KMC has adopted electronic building permit system, a web-based application which allows users to submit permit applications and required documents through municipality’s website, the municipality said adding that all old data will be categorised electronically as per their ward and building construction permit issue date. The electronic database will include the name and address of the land and building owner, building blueprint, current usage of the building among other relevant details.

Metropolitan officials said this would remove the hassle of delay in finding and working on documents of service seekers. The KMC will next digitise building files stored at its Teku that date back to the fiscal year 2004/05 and beyond. Upon the completion of data processing, the KMC will have a digital map of all structures in Kathmandu which is expected to ease future planning.

Nepal climbed up to second place in South Asia on the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings in 2014 and 78th globally (an improvement by 35 places) on dealing with 

construction permits rankings after the introduction of the e-BPS, according to the World Bank Doing Business Report 2015.

KMC Chief and Executive Officer Rudra Singh Tamang has said that the metropolis is moving towards complete paperless e-governance from the next fiscal year. The 

KMC, in association with the Asian Development Bank, is installing Municipal Administration and Revenue System which enables customers to apply and receive any service online.