THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has approved the construction of two new bungalows in less than 24 hours in line with the local council’s new initiative called Planning Approval within 24 Hours (PA24) launched on Oct 25.
In the past, the planning approval processing time took between 42 and 98 days.
Petaling Jaya deputy mayor Aznan Hassan said MBPJ received the applications between 4pm and 4.15pm on Thursday (Nov 20) and were brought to the One-Stop Centre meeting Friday (Nov 21), where they were approved.
He said the consultants for both bungalow projects complied with all the requirements.
“We are starting the PA24 initiative with processing applications for bungalows (residential units with no shared walls) first because it is the least complicated to submit compared to other categories of building constructions.
“MBPJ has also fixed its One-Stop Centre meeting every first and third Friday of each month to go over applications.
“Planning consultants can submit their applications accordingly for consideration in a timely manner,” he said.
Aznan added that MBPJ has planned to integrate an artificial intelligence (AI) assisted system within six months to automate the process and look into adding more categories of constructions into the PA24 initiative.
A planning consultant based in Petaling Jaya Rene Fu Swee Yun, whose project was one of the two approved in 24 hours, said PA24 initiative made it easier for them to plan their submissions.
“MBPJ has also arranged for a Development Planning Department officer-in-charge to look through the applications for bungalows to be available for consultation every Wednesday.
“This has made it easier for us to walk-in on the day for consultations.
“In the past, we had to make appointments based on the officer’s availability,” she said.
