No government should have power to approve INDIVIDUAL buildings

One of the greatest sources of corruption across the world (and I include the West) is the discretionary power of governments to individually approve the construction of buildings.

Discretion is the MOTHER of corruption, just as incentives are the FATHER of corruption. Discretion creates the opportunity, incentives create the desire for corruption. Controlling discretion is therefore one of the most fundamental ways to eliminate corruption.

And indeed, why should any government have discretion over individuals?

If Empire State Building is approved for 0.38 kilometer in height, then why can’t other buildings not go up to 0.38 kilometer?

If one building in Connought Place Delhi can go up to 0.1 kilometre, why not ALL others?

The rule of LAW does not permit such discretionary power to ANY government. All a government can approve is the maximum height of a building, and any general conditions that must apply. The government must enforce GENERAL RULES that apply uniformly to every citizen.

And so I ask all governments across the world to STOP individual approvals of buildings. Doing so is violative of EQUAL RIGHTS under the law. A classical liberal (free) society cannot allow Ministers or bureaucrats ANY individual discretion. They can only be empowered to enforce the general law. 

Accordingly, all maximum building heights must be recorded in bills that are agreed by parliaments, and thereafter ANYONE who wishes to build up to that height would be AUTOMATICALLY approved, subject only to the physical feasibility of such building, and subject to overall requirements for amenities (car parking, green wedges, etc.)

If such a general principle is adopted globally, cities will automatically start shooting to the sky, and property prices (residential/ office) will fall. Traffic congestion in cities will also ease as people are able to live in the same building in which they work.  

In Delhi, for instance, artificial scarcity created by governments has led to land prices being at least 5 times more than they would be if government discretion was eliminated.

In addition, for Delhi, we need a system that mandates land transfers only through approved agents. Government must license agents who will lose their career if ANY hanky-panky is detected. Buyers and sellers must have independent agents who get a (say) 2 per cent fee for their services. Competitive tension between agents will ensure that the REAL price of land is disclosed (today less than 1/10th of the real price is disclosed to government). If any agent is found to have indulged in connivance and disclosed a lower price than the true price, that agent could face jail, as well, for connivance in tax evasion. One way to enforce would be to include in the law that government will randomly auction 1/100th of the properties sold each year. If the auction discloses a price that varies more than 20 per cent from the disclosed value, both agents would lose their licence and be put behind bars for six months.

Such modernisation of laws and systems will ensure that property becomes affordable across the world, particularly in Delhi and Indian metros.