OBPAS WB: Online Building Plan Approval Process in West Bengal

OBPAS WB is the online single window where owners in West Bengal’s urban local bodies apply for building plan sanction without visiting the municipal office for document checks or fee payment. It runs at obpsudma.wb.gov.in under the Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (UD&MA), on a platform the department calls e-Grihanaksha.

Two points catch most first-time applicants. The portal does not cover every plot in the state, and an owner cannot submit the drawings alone. An architect or licensed building surveyor (LBS) empanelled with the local body has to do that part.

What does OBPAS WB let you apply for?

OBPAS stands for Online Building Plan Approval System. The department set it up as a Single Window System for construction permits, so one Common Application Form (CAF) feeds the plan sanction and the clearances linked to it.

You can apply for:

• A new building plan sanction, including resubmission after corrections
• Alteration, addition, and permit renewal or revalidation
• E-intimation of the start of construction
• Plinth-level certification
• An occupancy certificate (full, partial or blockwise), plus water and sewer connections

Approvals are issued as digitally signed documents.

Which plots can use OBPAS WB?

Check this before anything else. The portal serves urban local bodies (ULBs), not the whole state.

If you are unsure which body controls your plot, ask the municipality’s building department before registering.

How to apply on OBPAS WB, step by step

The department’s procedure runs to 13 stages. In practice they group into eight.

1. Register as a citizen. Open obpsudma.wb.gov.in and fill the registration form: name, mobile number, email ID, preferred username, password and an ID proof. Credentials arrive by SMS and email.
2. Log in with your username, password and the on-screen captcha, then click Common Application Form.
3. Fill in the CAF: owner details, site details, specifications, and land and building particulars. The department warns that errors can lead to rejection.
4. Pick your technical personnel. From your inputs, the system classifies the building as low, medium or high risk. You then choose an LBS or architect, and a structural engineer, geotechnical engineer or structural reviewer where needed, from your municipality’s empanelment list. The list sits under Downloads on the portal.
5. Save the form. The system generates an Application Identification Number (AIN). Click Send to consultant.
6. Consultant’s work. Your consultant completes the technical fields, prepares the drawings, and uploads NOCs and supporting documents. The architectural drawing (.dwg) goes to the Smart-DCR auto-scrutiny engine, which checks it against the West Bengal Municipal (Building) Rules, 2007.
7. Municipality review. After scrutiny the file moves to the municipality automatically. SMS and email alerts carry the AIN and status.
8. Pay and download. Pay the demand note online, then download the digitally signed building permit and approved drawing from the application’s detailed view.

Which NOCs and documents are needed?

The supporting-document checklist appears inside your application and changes with the building category and the municipality, so no single list fits every file. Ask your consultant for the list generated for your file.

NOCs follow fixed triggers, according to UD&MA:

• Fire Safety Recommendation: residential buildings without a basement above 15.5 m, residential buildings with a basement of any height, and every non-residential building
• Lift or escalator permission from the Directorate of Electricity: buildings 15.5 m or taller
• Urban Land Ceiling NOC: plots above 500 sq m. The department word this threshold loosely, so confirm the exact cut-off with the competent authority. Use our land area converter to check your plot size in square metres.
• Airports Authority of India height clearance and National Monuments Authority NOC (the latter for sites near centrally protected monuments), where applicable

How do you check OBPAS WB application status?

Log in to your citizen account and open the application list. Each file shows its status against its AIN, for example “Consultant completed, nodal officer action pending”. The AIN is a 20-character alphanumeric number. For plinth-level and occupancy applications you enter the same AIN, and the portal pulls in the earlier sanction’s data.

Avoiding delays and getting help

• Practice on the department’s test site, beta-obpsudma.wb.gov.in, where you can try the process without submitting a real file.
• Drawings with a wrong geometric arrangement are sent back at the precheck stage, so ask your consultant to run it before final submission.
• Choose a consultant empanelled in your own municipality, since each ULB keeps its own list.
• For grievances, log in, click Raise Grievance and submit the form. The municipality is expected to resolve it within six working days.
• Helplines: call centre 1800 345 8251, helpdesk 033 2334 0025, email helpdesk.sws.udma@wb.gov.in.

OBPAS WB works only for plots under the municipalities and corporations that use it.
Confirm the controlling body first, then register and open the Common Application Form.
Your empanelled consultant handles drawings, NOCs and scrutiny.
Pay the demand note online and download the signed permit from your account.