Applications to Building Control, requests for NOCs (no-objection certificates) and building-plan approvals could not be tracked systematically. Where a file stood, and who was holding it, was found by asking.
Case study · Building plan approval and NOC management
From paper files to One Window for the whole of Islamabad.
Building plan approval software, in practice: the Capital Development Authority (CDA) moved Building Control applications, NOCs and building-plan approvals off paper and onto one platform, with a web app and a mobile app that let Islamabad residents see their own pending issues.
1Window for plans, NOCs and maps
2Resident apps: web and mobile
2Plan types: residential and commercial
1960Year CDA was set up by ordinance
- Client
- Capital Development Authority (CDA), Islamabad
- Industry
- Government, city planning and development control
- Coverage
- Building plans for the whole of Islamabad, residential and commercial
- Users
- CDA officers on one side; Islamabad residents on the web app and mobile app
- Solution
- CDA One Window: Building Control, NOC and building-plan application management, resident apps and website management
- Delivered by
- Eziline Software House
The challengeNo systematic tracking Many sections, one file Residents left asking
A capital city's building files, all on paper.
CDA plans, develops and regulates Islamabad. Every house, plaza and plot that is built or altered passes through its offices, and until One Window the applications behind them lived on paper.
A plan or NOC request does not belong to one desk. CDA's own website lists a dedicated One Window Directorate, and the file moves between Building Control, the departments that give clearances and the people who decide.
An applicant who cannot see the status of a map or NOC matter has one option: visit or phone. In a city the size of Islamabad, that adds up to a lot of avoidable visits.
One window, many sides
Everyone who touches a plan, on one platform.
One Window sits between the people who apply and the offices that decide. Applicants reach it through the web app or the mobile app, and CDA manages plans, NOCs and maps for the whole of Islamabad behind it.
Inside CDA
Building Control · NOC clearances · Maps and plans · Residential plans · Commercial plans · Sectors
Applicants and channels
Residents · Architects · Builders · Web app · Mobile app · Website
What One Window coversOne Window application Building plan approvals Building Control applications NOC management Maps and layout matters Application tracking Resident web app Resident mobile app Website management Built for a whole city
Building plans, NOCs and maps in one application.
The system is organised around the application. Whatever the request, it becomes a record that can be tracked from the day it is lodged to the day it is decided.
A single application through which CDA manages building plans for the whole of Islamabad, replacing separate paper files with one system of record.
One windowIslamabad-wideSystem of record
Residential and commercial building plans handled in the same system, so an approval for a house and an approval for a commercial building follow one consistent route.
ResidentialCommercialApprovals
Applications to Building Control are recorded as they arrive and tracked afterwards, instead of travelling as folders from desk to desk.
Building ControlApplication recordsTracking
Requests for no-objection certificates are captured, followed and visible, with the pending ones separated from the cleared ones.
NOCsPending listClearances
Issues that concern maps are managed alongside plan and NOC matters, so a map question does not become a separate paper trail.
MapsLayoutsSectors
Every application has a status that can be checked: received, under scrutiny, waiting on a clearance, or decided.
StatusHistoryFollow-up
Residents of Islamabad open the web app to see their pending issues on maps and NOC matters without a trip to the office.
Web appPending issuesSelf-service
The same view on a phone, so an applicant can check where a matter stands from home, site or office.
Mobile appStatus on the goResidents
CDA can now manage its whole website easily, so the public information that sits next to the application stays current.
WebsiteContentUpdates
One platform for Islamabad's sectors, for residential and commercial applications, and for the officers and residents on either side of the counter.
SectorsWhole cityCitizen-facing
The application journey
From application to notification, with no lost files.
A simplified view of the path an application takes. The exact stages and rules are CDA's own; the system makes each step visible.
- Application
A plan, NOC request or map matter is recorded in One Window.
- Scrutiny
Building Control examines the application.
- NOC
Clearances are requested and followed up until they arrive.
- Decision
The application is approved, queried or declined.
- Notification
The resident sees the outcome in the web app or mobile app.
The board
Every application has a place, and everyone can see it.
Think of One Window as a live board for the whole city. Applications enter on the left, move through scrutiny and NOC clearance, and leave decided on the right, while the map shows where in Islamabad they sit.
What residents see
The status of a file, on the phone in their hand.
Residents use the mobile app and the web app to see their pending issues on map and NOC matters. The screen below is a layout of that idea: no real applications, names or figures.
Your applications
Building plan · received
Under scrutiny at Building Control
NOC · awaiting clearance
Map query · pending
Decision recorded · view details
Layout only. Not real data.What changedFrom paper to a system The whole of Islamabad Residents see their own issues The website, easily managed
One system the whole city's plans now run through.
Applications to Building Control, NOCs and building-plan approvals that were all on paper are now managed in one application.
CDA manages building plans for the entire capital through One Window, residential and commercial alike.
Islamabad residents use the web app and the mobile app to see pending issues on maps and NOC matters, rather than visiting to ask.
CDA can now manage its whole website easily, alongside the application that serves the public.
In plain words
Building plan approval and NOC management software for Pakistan
Every city that grows needs a dependable way to approve what gets built. Building plan approval software replaces paper files with a record for each application: who lodged it, which section is examining it, which clearances are outstanding and what was decided. For a development authority, a municipal body or a large housing society, that record is the difference between an office that is chased and an office that is in control.
The CDA One Window application shows what that looks like at the scale of a capital. Building Control applications, NOCs and building-plan approvals, residential and commercial, are managed through one platform for the whole of Islamabad, and residents follow their pending issues on a web app and a mobile app. It is e-governance in the practical sense: fewer trips, fewer lost files and a status that anyone entitled to see can read.
Eziline builds permit management software, NOC management systems and citizen-facing mobile apps in Pakistan for authorities and organisations that have outgrown paper. We map your approval stages and clearances, build the web and mobile apps your applicants use, and support the system after go-live. Tell us how your plans move today and we will scope the system around it.
Building plan approval softwareNOC management systemBuilding control management systemCDA One WindowOnline building plan approval IslamabadE-governance PakistanPermit management softwareMobile app for residentsApplication tracking systemDevelopment authority software PakistanDigital building permit systemGovernment website management
Questions
CDA One Window: frequently asked questions.
What is building plan approval software?
Building plan approval software is a system that takes a building plan application from lodging to decision. It records every application, shows which section is examining it, tracks outstanding NOCs and clearances, and lets the applicant see the status. It replaces paper files and the follow-up visits they cause.
What is CDA One Window?
CDA One Window is the application Eziline built for the Capital Development Authority, Islamabad. Through it CDA manages building plans for the whole of Islamabad, residential and commercial, along with Building Control applications and NOC matters.
Can the system manage NOCs as well as building plans?
Yes. NOC requests (no-objection certificates) are recorded and tracked in the same application as Building Control and building-plan approvals, so pending clearances are visible rather than buried in a file.
Can residents check their applications from a phone?
Yes. Islamabad residents use a mobile app and a web app to see their pending issues regarding maps and NOC matters, without having to visit the office to ask.
Does it work for both residential and commercial buildings?
Yes. CDA manages residential and commercial building plans for the whole of Islamabad through the same One Window application.
Does One Window also help with the website?
Yes. Alongside the application, CDA can now manage its whole website easily, so keeping public information current is straightforward.
Can you build something similar for another authority or housing society?
Yes. We build building plan approval, permit and NOC systems for development authorities, municipal bodies and housing societies in Pakistan, with web and mobile apps for applicants. Book a free consultation and we will scope your version.
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