Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Launches AI-Powered ‘BuildNow’ to Facilitate Building Permits

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy inaugurated BuildNow, an AI-based platform to streamline the building permit system in a major step towards ending corruption in the approval process by making it easier for citizens to register for a lottery and obtain a building permit. The new system replaces the erstwhile Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self-Certification System (TG-bPASS), which according to Reddy suffered from undue favoritism and manual interventions.

Speaking at the launch on Thursday, Reddy added that BuildNow will offer an online-only approval process that will be transparent and not subject to the influence of status or political connections. “Our vision is to offer a governance model that is fair for everyone.” This is what we call as good governance — The Telangana Model,” he said.

Reddy also attacked the previous BRS-led government after claiming that powerful people obtained clearances under TS-bPASS through manual methods, surreptitiously violating rules. “Builders who were connected with the then-rulers were able to receive approvals through illegal commissions. Records of these transactions alleged,” he alleged.

The reform is part of the Chief Minister’s plans for a corruption-free and digitized permit system. Zero manual intervention policy resulted in the formation of BuildNow: MA&UD principal secretary Dana Kishore Earlier, big projects multiple lakhs of square feet required a pre-scrutiny stage taking two weeks to two months, usually involving manual approvals, he said.

“With BuildNow this process has been streamlined, and applications can now be submitted and verified entirely online,” explained Kishore. He also disclosed that the government is developing a virtual monitoring system that would allow for remote oversight of permits, instead of sending officials to physical sites to spot infractions.

Kishore pointed towards the success of BuildNow, mentioning states have already shown interest in adopting a similar system. “This application will be a crucial pillar in building Telangana as a mega city,” he said.

With the speed, efficiency and transparency it brings to the table, BuildNow is poised to transform approval processes for building constructions and layouts in Telangana – not just reducing the brunt of the process on the citizens, but putting the state on the map for others to emulate.