VISAKHAPATNAMGreater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Commissioner Ketan Garg on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over delays in processing building permissions and Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) applications, warning town planning officials that administrative lapses will no longer be tolerated.Chairing a review meeting with the town planning wing at the civic body’s headquarters in Visakhapatnam, Mr. Garg noted that citizens are facing persistent hurdles and excessive wait times for routine approvals.Tight timelines mandatedHe directed officials to streamline the scrutiny of building applications received via the Andhra Pradesh Development Permission Management System (APDPMS) portal.Stating that files must be thoroughly evaluated and forwarded to competent authorities within a strict two-day window, Mr. Garg said, “Delays in processing applications registered by citizens seeking building permissions reflect poorly on service delivery.” He instructed Chief City Planner A. Prabhakara Rao to immediately implement a systematic action plan to clear the backlog.LRS, TDR under scrutinyThe civic body’s chief also reviewed the progress of the State government’s LRS and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) approvals. He ordered planning officers and field surveyors to expedite ground-level verifications to facilitate faster disposal of pending files.Identifying structural deficiencies within the department, Mr. Garg pulled up officials over sluggishness in the registration and licensing of Licensed Technical Persons. He cautioned that accountability would be enforced if officials failed to meet the prescribed timelines. Published - June 04, 2026 08:34 pm IST