By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, has promised to review its planning permit processing time from 28 to 18 days and also reduce layout approval process from 90 days to 30 days.
This was disclosed by the Assistant Director Public Affairs of the ministry, Mr Mukaila Sanusi, on Monday, January 25 in a statement.
It was noted the decision followed a communiqué adopted from resolutions of an annual retreat of the ministry and its agencies in the state.
He said the ministry and its agencies resolved to re-engineer their operating procedures to meet the 21st-century demands of the Lagos megacity plans.
“Highlights of the forward-looking resolutions include the reduction of planning permit processing time from 28 to 18 days, reduction of the lay-out approval process from 90 to 30 days and the adoption of one stage approval for layout instead of the existing two stages,” Mr Sanusi said in the statement.
He added that the staff agreed that the ministry and its agencies should redouble their efforts toward realising their mandates, especially in relation to the 21st century Lagos economic goal.
“They resolved to enhance synergy between and among the agencies, particularly the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA),” said Mr Sanusi.
Mr Sanusi quoted the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Idris Salako, as saying that the resolutions were capable of delivering many advantages.
According to him, the Commissioner enumerated the benefits to include “improved revenue, enhanced service delivery, reduction of bottlenecks in Planning Permit and Layout approvals as well as a drastic reduction in illegal building construction.”
He added that the resolutions would also ensure seamless attainment of an orderly and sustainable environment.
He urged the workforce to fulfil the content of the communiqué with a renewed commitment to providing needed solutions to the challenges in the system.
