500 building plans missing from OBPAS portal, HC told
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500 building plans missing from OBPAS portal, HC told
Shimla, July 23,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court was informed that more than 500 building plans uploaded on the Online Building Plan Approval System (OBPAS) portal before January 31, 2026, have gone missing or were deleted from the system. The court was also told that the empanelment of registered private professional has already been placed under provisional suspension.
The submission came during the hearing of a public interest litigation initiated by the High Court on its own motion regarding alleged irregularities in the approval of building plans through the OBPAS portal. The case was heard by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C. Negi.
Respondent No. 8 filed an affidavit defending the procedure adopted while processing Form-12 submitted by respondent No. 7. The affidavit stated that the non-submission of geo-referenced photographs was only a technical and procedural issue as the OBPAS portal was under development at that time. It further claimed that all mandatory documents, including revenue records, building plans and site particulars, had been uploaded successfully and acknowledged by the portal before the approval option became available. Photographs showing the condition of the site at the initial stage were also placed on record.
The court was informed that a show-cause notice had been issued by the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Shimla, on May 23, 2026, to the registered private professional, who submitted his reply on May 26. The Municipal Corporation further stated that any final penal action, including revocation of registration, could only be taken on the recommendation of the competent authority.
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After considering the submissions, the High Court observed that the matter involved several documents, contour maps and photographs claimed to have been uploaded with the Structural Stability Certificate. The Bench directed respondent No. 3 to examine the reply to the show-cause notice independently and pass a reasoned order within 10 days, without being influenced by the court’s earlier prima facie observations.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 30, 2026.
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