Srinagar: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Thursday reviewed the adoption of Chandigarh’s online Property Management System (PMS) for digitising the management of government housing colonies in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the initiative would improve transparency, efficiency and citizen-centric service delivery.
The system, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), is proposed to be adopted by the Housing and Urban Development Department (H&UDD) to provide online property management services to allottees of government housing colonies across the Union Territory.
The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD Mandeep Kaur, Commissioners of the Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations, Vice Chairpersons of the Jammu and Srinagar Development Authorities, State Informatics Officer, NIC J&K, Managing Director, J&K Housing Board, senior officers of the department and officials from NIC Chandigarh through virtual mode.
Emphasising the need to leverage technology to improve public service delivery, the Chief Secretary said the proposed online platform would simplify property-related procedures, minimise physical interaction between citizens and government offices, reduce processing time and provide greater convenience to allottees.
Dulloo directed the concerned departments and implementing agencies to ensure time-bound implementation of the project in close coordination with NIC Chandigarh and NIC J&K. He stressed the need to complete software customisation, ensure the accuracy of property data, undertake comprehensive testing and complete the mandatory security audit before the system is made available to the public.
He also called for adequate training of the concerned staff to facilitate smooth implementation of the project.
Commissioner Secretary, H&UDD Mandeep Kaur informed the meeting that the Property Management System has already been implemented successfully by the Chandigarh Administration and provides an end-to-end digital platform for processing ownership and lease-related services through an online workflow.
She said the system is designed to enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency and ease of access by enabling citizens to avail property-related services online without visiting government offices.
During the meeting, the NIC Chandigarh team gave a live demonstration of the portal and showcased its various modules, workflow and operational features. Officials explained the complete digital processing of applications from submission to final disposal through a structured online system.
The proposed online services include transfer of ownership based on registered sale deeds, transfer of lease rights, issuance of no-objection certificates for transfer of lease rights, permission to mortgage properties and issuance of no-dues certificates. The portal will also allow applicants to track the status of their applications online, ensuring greater transparency and timely delivery of services.
Vice Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, Rupesh Kumar, informed the meeting that the system incorporates several digital features, including a dedicated citizen web interface, an electronic payment gateway, automated calculation of applicable charges, digital noting, approvals through digital signatures, Management Information System (MIS) dashboards, Citizen Charter timelines and SMS alerts at every stage of application processing.
The meeting was informed that customisation of the software to meet Jammu and Kashmir’s requirements is currently underway. A dedicated team from NIC J&K has been deployed for implementation, while the process of engaging developers is in progress.
Officials said stakeholder feedback received during trial runs would be incorporated within a month, following which the security audit would be completed. Property data would then be uploaded in phases before the system is formally launched for public use.