PATNA, Sept. 28 -- The long-drawn process of securing building plan approvals in the state capital is poised for a decisive overhaul and is set to turn largely paperless, if the cabinet accepts the final recommendations of a group of ministers (GoM). The panel, led by deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and including urban development and housing department (UDHD) minister Nitish Mishra, has completed its work on amendments to the Bihar Building by-laws with the dual objectives of ease of doing business and ease of living for residents, officials said on Sunday. At present, every building plan, whether for a residential house or a commercial structure, must be submitted in hard copy, processed through multiple committees and cleared only after physical scrutiny of documents. That era of file-chasing and repeated visits to administrative offices is intended to end. The draft of the new Bihar building bye-laws 2026, prepared on the basis of the GoM's recommendations, will now be placed before the cabinet, Mishra said. The minister declined to spell out the precise changes, but officials associated with the drafting process told HT that several long-standing irritants have been addressed. Major among them is the mandatory re-approval of maps after the original validity period expires. Multi-storeyed and major projects are currently granted a three-year window for completion; if work remains unfinished, developers must seek fresh sanction. Under the proposed code that requirement is being done away with, and the validity period itself is being made more practical so that repeated renewals become unnecessary. Deputy CM Chaudhary said that the GoM has made its recommendations and the final draft of building by-laws will be ready for the cabinet approval after the final round of discussion with CM Samrat Choudhary in the next few days. Officials in the UDHD said the draft also substantially relaxes floor-area-ratio (FAR) norms to encourage vertical growth of townships and eases setback requirements. Planners will, however, still be required to ensure that access for emergency services remains unhindered at every doorstep. Limited commercial utilisation of residential premises is proposed to be permitted, though the department is awaiting the Supreme Court's final directions in an ongoing case. The apex court is hearing petitions relating to commercial establishments operating in residential zones; the Patna municipal corporation (PMC) had earlier been directed to file its reply after more than 27,000 such violations were identified and proceedings initiated against owners. The new by-laws are also expected to facilitate the orderly expansion of satellite towns around Patna by removing provisions that officials themselves described as 'headaches for the common man'. During the GoM meeting, principal secretary of the UDHD Vinay Kumar presented the key features, emphasising a fully digital, automated and time-bound approval system that will replace the present paper-heavy and opaque process. The three principal reforms highlighted by the department are: Greater flexibility in map validity so that builders are not forced into repeated renewals; elimination of non-essential documents and complicated NOC chains; and a modern, transparent digital platform aligned with contemporary needs. Deputy CM Chaudhary remarked that the practical suggestions received from stakeholders would make the 2026 by-laws more effective and that the public would derive clear benefits from the revised validity provisions. CM Samrat Choudhary had earlier directed the department to make construction-related rules and urban-development processes more efficient....