Srinagar, Sep 18: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has fixed a maximum timeline of seven working days for conducting field inspections linked to eight online services of the Housing and Urban Development Department (H&UDD), as part of its ongoing implementation of the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP).
The timeline has been prescribed through Government Order No 193-JK(HUD) of 2026, issued on September 11.
According to the order, the seven-working-day period will be counted from the date the inspection is scheduled or the application is received on the concerned online portal, as applicable.
The deadline applies to Certificate of Vending (Street Vendor Licence), Municipal Trade Licence/NOC for Commercial Establishments, Sewerage Connection and Building Plan Approval.
It will also cover permission for alteration, addition, revision or revalidation of buildings; permission for demolition and reconstruction; Plinth Approval of Building; and Occupancy/Completion Certificate of Building.
The order has been issued in continuation of Government Order Nob43-JK(HUD) of 2026 dated February 27 and seeks to formalise a time-bound inspection mechanism for services that have a direct bearing on construction, commercial activity and municipal infrastructure.
The notification has been issued by Mandeep Kaur, Commissioner Secretary to the Government, H&UDD.
The latest measure is part of the broader Business Reforms Action Plan implemented by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
BRAP was launched in 2014-15 as a framework for States and Union Territories to undertake regulatory reforms aimed at improving the business environment and reducing delays and compliance burdens.
Over the years, BRAP has expanded beyond conventional ease-of-doing-business measures.
The BRAP 2024 framework covers areas including labour, environment, land administration, taxation, utility permits, inspections and construction, besides promoting ICT adoption, process re-engineering, online service delivery and integration with single-window systems. DPIIT has also introduced an assessment methodology combining evidence of reform implementation with stakeholder feedback.
The DPIIT’s BRAP portal tracks States and UTs on the basis of reforms implemented and feedback received.
Under the BRAP 2024 assessment, States and UTs are placed in categories based on the level of compliance with the action plan. In the latest categorisation released by the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir figures among the “Fast Movers” in the Y category, which comprises States and UTs with established business-centric systems.
The Centre has increasingly linked BRAP with measurable service-delivery improvements. The 2024 framework specifically seeks to reduce approval times, expand online delivery and integrate systems such as the National Single Window System.
It also places emphasis on transparent information relating to procedures, fees and timelines.
The National Single Window System, meanwhile, enables businesses to track applications and approval status through an investor dashboard.
As of February 2026, 32 central ministries and departments and 33 states and UTs had been integrated with the system, providing access to more than 300 central and over 3000 state and UT government-to-business approvals.
J&K has also been expanding its own digital service infrastructure.
The UT’s Single Window Portal provides a single point of contact for investors and facilitates online services relating to business establishment and operations.
The Economic Survey has reported 185 services available through the Single Window Portal.
The H&UDD reforms are significant because building permissions, commercial establishment licences and related municipal approvals often require physical verification before a decision can be taken.
Prescribing a seven-working-day ceiling provides applicants with a defined timeframe for this particular stage of the process.
The February 2026 H&UDD order had already laid down procedures for online inspections, including prescribed checklists and digital recording of inspection outcomes.
The September order now adds a clear outer limit for conducting the field inspection, thereby strengthening the time-bound nature of the process.
The reform, however, does not mean that an application has to be approved within seven days.
The prescribed period relates specifically to the conduct of the field inspection.
The application would continue to be processed in accordance with the applicable building bye-laws, municipal regulations and other statutory requirements.
