The Water Resources Department (WRD) will soon launch an online portal for issuing no-objection certificates (NOCs). This will help streamline administrative processes and benefit citizens.

The department has already started introducing e-Office system in a phased manner in various regions, starting with Chennai. The system is aimed at reducing the burden of handling files manually and improving efficiency of the workflow. The entire department will be upgraded to the system in two or three months.

WRD officials said a dedicated portal for NOCs would help ensure a faster, and more efficient and transparent approval process.

The portal, being developed by the Tamil Nadu e-Governance agency, would be ready in a few months, they said.

Every month, on an average, the WRD receives a minimum of 50 applications seeking NOCs from various stakeholders across the State to execute infrastructure projects. Similarly, it receives a minimum of 600 applications from citizens across the State.

Stakeholders from other government agencies such as State Highways Department, local bodies and National Highways Authority of India seek NOCs for executing construction projects across waterways and waterbodies.

Officials said the portal would help stakeholders to track the status of their applications and avoid delays. However, field verification process and other analyses on impact assessment would be done to issue the certificates. Up to 10% of the applications often get rejected if the projects are found affecting waterbodies.

The applicants are also required to provide inevitability certificate and other documents, including the results of hydrology study. The documentation process will be made online.

The department also receive applications from industries and residents for sinking borewells or construction purposes. For instance, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has laid down conditions for obtaining NOC from the department for plan approval, particularly in connection with inundation aspects. WRD is looking to reduce the time taken for issuing certificates through the initiative, officials added.