WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD) has notified a Citizen Charter outlining service standards, grievance redressal timelines and accountability mechanisms for citizens seeking services from the department and its subordinate agencies.
The Citizen Charter was notified through Government Order No. 176-JK (HUD) of 2026, dated August 22, 2026, issued by the Housing & Urban Development Department. The charter aims to promote transparent, accountable and citizen-centric administration while strengthening urban governance and improving public service delivery across Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the charter, the department will acknowledge written communications and grievances within three working days and endeavour to dispose of routine matters within 30 working days, subject to applicable laws and procedures. Public communications, wherever no statutory timeline is prescribed, are to be responded to within 15 working days.
The department has also laid down a specific grievance redressal mechanism. Citizens can lodge complaints through the J&K Government’s Unified Grievance Redressal Portal, JK Samadhan, through email, by submitting written representations at the Civil Secretariat, or through public grievance cells and camps organised by the department.
Under the prescribed grievance timelines, complaints are to be acknowledged within three working days and forwarded to the concerned section or office within five working days. Routine grievances are to be disposed of within 30 days, while complex cases requiring field verification or consultation are to be addressed within 45 days, with reasons for any extended timeline communicated to the complainant wherever feasible.
The charter further provides for escalation where a complainant is dissatisfied with the disposal of a grievance. Cases pertaining to another department or agency are to be transferred to the appropriate authority at the earliest, with the complainant informed accordingly.
The department has also placed emphasis on digital governance, stating that it will promote online applications, electronic payments, application tracking, e-Office, electronic records and other technology-enabled citizen services wherever available. The charter lists building permissions, land-use permissions, municipal administration, sanitation, housing, urban planning and civic infrastructure among the areas where online services may be provided.
The service catalogue attached to the Citizen Charter sets out stipulated timelines for 43 services under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Services Guarantee framework. These include building permissions, birth and death certificates, trade licences, road-cut permissions, sewer and drainage connections, signage licences, pet registration, commercial establishment permissions and no-objection certificates for tree felling and building permissions.
The notified schedule provides a seven-day timeline for trade licence and renewal, road-cut permissions and inspection related to road cutting and restoration. Sewer and drainage connections are to be provided within 15 days, while signage licences have a stipulated timeline of 15 days. Sanction for storage of construction material on public roads or pavements during construction has also been assigned a seven-day timeline.
Several citizen services carry a 30-day timeline, including correction of existing birth and death records and issuance of certificates, non-availability certificates for birth and death records, pet registration, no-objection certificates for tree felling and certain municipal permissions. Applications for NOCs for commercial establishments under Municipal Corporations have a stipulated timeline of 20 days.
For building-related clearances, the schedule fixes 21 days for NOCs from J&K UEED, Jammu Development Authority, J&K Housing Board and J&K LCMA. Building permissions from municipal bodies have generally been assigned a 30-day timeline, while plinth-level inspections are to be completed within seven days and final completion inspection/occupancy certificates within eight days, including seven days for inspection and one day for issuance of the certificate.
The Citizen Charter also commits the department to a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, urging citizens neither to offer nor pay illegal gratification and encouraging them to report demands for bribes or corrupt practices through prescribed vigilance or grievance mechanisms. The department has stated that the Citizen Charter will be reviewed annually, or whenever required, to update services, timelines, designated officers, appellate authorities and contact details.
