Pages

GENERAL BUILDING REQUREMENT AND RULES

This part deals with the development control rules and the general construction requirements to guarantee the health and safety of the public.

Terminology


 Access — A clear approach to a plot or a building.

Accessory Use — Any use of the premises subordinate to the principal use and customarily incidental to the principal use.

Alteration — A change from one occupancy to another, or a structural change, such as an addition to the area or height, or the removal of part of a building, or any change to the structure, such as the construction of, cutting into or removal of any wall, partition, column, beam, joist, floor or other support, or a change to or closing of any required means of ingress or egress or a change to the fixtures or equipment

Approved — Approved by the Authority having jurisdiction.

Authority Having Jurisdiction — The Authority which has been created by a statute and which for the purpose of administering the Code/Part may authorize a committee or an official to act on its behalf; hereinafter called the ‘Authority’.

 Building — Any structure for whatsoever purpose and of whatsoever materials constructed and every part thereof whether used as human habitation or not and includes foundation, plinth, walls, floors, roofs, chimneys, plumbing and building services, fixed platforms, verandah, balcony, cornice or projection, part of a building or anything affixed thereto or any wall enclosing or intended to enclose any land or space and signs and outdoor display structures. Tents/ SHAMIANAHS, tarpaulin shelters, etc, erected for temporary and ceremonial occasions with the permission of the Authority shall not be considered as a building.

 Building, Height of — The vertical distance measured, in the case of flat roofs from the average level of the ground around and contiguous to the building or as decided by the Authority to the terrace of last livable floor of the building adjacent to the external walls; and in the case of pitched roofs, up to the point where the external surface of the outer wall intersects the finished surface of the sloping roof, and in the case of gables facing the road, the midpoint between the eaves level and the ridge. Architectural features serving no other function except that of decoration shall be excluded for the purpose of measuring heights.

Building Line — The line up to which the plinth of a building adjoining a street or an extension of a street or on a future street may lawfully extend. It includes the lines prescribed, if any, in any scheme. The building line may change from time-to-time as decided by the Authority.

Conversion — The change of occupancy or premises to any occupancy or use requiring additional occupancy permit.

 Development — ‘Development’ with grammatical variations means the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, or over, or under land or water, or in the use of any building or land, and includes redevelopment and layout and subdivision of any land; and ‘to develop’ shall be construed accordingly

Drain — A conduit or channel for the carriage of stormwater, sewage, wastewater or other waterborne wastes in a building drainage system.

 Drainage — The removal of any liquid by a system constructed for the purpose.

Occupancy or Use Group — The principal occupancy for which a building or a part of a building is used or intended to be used; for the purposes of classification of a building according to occupancy, an occupancy shall be deemed to include the subsidiary occupancies which are contingent upon it.

Occupier — Occupier includes any person for the time being, paying or liable to pay rent or any portion of rent of the building in respect of which the ward is used, or compensation or premium on account of the occupation of such building and also a rent-free tenant, but does not include a lodger, and the words ‘occupy’ and ‘occupation’ do not refer to the lodger. An owner living in or otherwise using his own building shall be deemed to be the occupier thereof.

 Owner — Person or body having a legal interest in land and/or building thereon. This includes free holders, leaseholders or those holding a sub-lease which both bestows a legal right to occupation and gives rise to liabilities in respect of safety or building condition. In case of lease or sub-lease holders, as far as ownership with respect to the structure is concerned, the structure of a flat or structure on a plot belongs to the allottee/ lessee till the allotment/lease subsists.

 Permit — A permission or authorization in writing by the Authority to carry out work regulated by the Code.

Room Height — The vertical distance measured from the finished floor surface to the finished ceiling surface. Where a finished ceiling is not provided, the underside of the joists or beams or tie beams shall determine the upper point of measurement for determining the head room.

Sanctioned Plan — The set of plans and specifications submitted in connection with a building or development and duly approved and sanctioned by the Authority.

Service Road — A road/lane provided at the rear or side of a plot for service purposes.

Set-back Line — A line usually parallel to the plot boundaries and laid down in each case by the Authority, beyond which nothing can be constructed towards the site boundaries

 Site (Plot) — A parcel (piece) of land enclosed by definite boundaries.

 Street — Any means of access, namely, highway, street, lane, pathway, alley, stairway, passageway,
carriageway, footway, square, place or bridge, whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public have a right of passage or access or have passed and had access uninterruptedly for a specified period, whether existing or proposed in any scheme and includes all bunds, channels, ditches, storm-water drains, culverts, sidewalks, traffic islands, roadside trees and hedges, retaining walls, fences, barriers and railings within the street lines.

 Street Level or Grade — The officially established elevation or grade of the centre line of the street upon which a plot fronts and if there is no officially established grade, the existing grade of the street at its mid-point.

Street Line — The line defining the side limits of a street.

To Erect — To erect a building means: 
a) to erect a new building on any site whether previously built upon or not;
 b) to re-erect any building of which portions above the plinth level have been pulled down, burnt or destroyed.

Unsafe Building — Buildings which are structurally and constructionally unsafe or unsanitary or not provided with adequate means of egress or which constitute a fire hazard or are otherwise dangerous to human life or which in relation to existing use constitute a hazard to safety or health or public welfare, by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation or abandonment.

Cabin — A non-residential enclosure constructed of non-load bearing partition. 

Canopy — A projection over any entrance.

Carpet Area — The covered area of the usable rooms at any floor level (excluding the area of the wall). 

CHHAJJA — A sloping or horizontal structural overhang usually provided over openings on external walls to provide protection from sun and rain.

 Chimney — An upright shaft containing one or more flues provided for the conveyance to the outer air of any product of combustion resulting from the operation of heat producing appliance or equipment employing solid, liquid or gaseous fuel. 


Balcony — A horizontal projection, with a handrail or balustrade or a parapet, to serve as a passage or sitting out place.
Basement or Cellar — The lower story of a building below or partly below ground level

Chowk, Inner — A chowk enclosed on all sides. 
Chowk, Outer — A chowk one of whose sides is not enclosed. 
Closed Clusters — Clusters with only one common entry into cluster open space. 
Cluster — Plots or dwelling units or housing grouped around an open space. Ideally housing cluster should not be very large. In ground and one storeyed structures not more than 20 houses should be grouped in a cluster. Clusters with more dwelling units will create problems in identity, encroachments and of maintenance. 
Cluster Court Town House — A dwelling in a cluster plot having 100 percent or nearly 100 percent ground coverage with vertical expansion, generally limited to one floor only and meant for self-use

Parapet — A low wall or railing built along the edge of a roof or floor. 

Parking Space — An area enclosed or unenclosed, covered or open, sufficient in size to park vehicles, together with a driveway connecting the parking space with a street or alley and permitting ingress and egress of the vehicles. 

Partition — An interior non-load bearing barrier, one storey or part-storey in height. 2.64 Plinth — The portion of a structure between the surface of the surrounding ground and surface of the floor, immediately above the ground. 

 Plinth Area — The built up covered area measured at the floor level of the basement or of any storey. 

 Porch — A covered structure supported on pillars or otherwise for the purpose of pedestrian or vehicular approach to a building. 

Room Height — The vertical distance measured from the finished floor surface to the finished ceiling surface. Where a finished ceiling is not provided, the underside of the joists or beams or tie beams shall determine the upper point of measurement.

Row Housing/Row Type Building — A row of buildings, with the only front, rear and interior open spaces where applicable.

 Semi-Detached Building — A building detached on three sides. 

 Service Road/Lane — A road/lane provided adjacent to a plot(s) for access or service purposes as the case may be. 

 Set-Back Line — A line usually parallel to the plot boundaries and laid down in each case by the Authority, beyond which nothing can be constructed towards the plot boundaries. 

Site (Plot) — A parcel (piece) of land enclosed by definite boundaries. 

Site, Corner — A site at the junctions of and fronting on two or more intersecting streets. 

 Site, Depth of — The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear site boundaries. 

Site, Double Frontage — A site, having a frontage on two streets, other than a corner plot.

 Site, Interior or Tandem — A site access to which is by a passage from a street whether such passage forms part of the site or not. 

 Stair cover (or MUMTY) — A structure with a roof over a staircase and its landing built to enclose only the stairs for the purpose of providing protection from weather and not used for human habitation. 

Storey — The portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there be no floor above it, then the space between any floor and the ceiling next above it. 

 Storey, Topmost — The uppermost storey in a building whether constructed wholly or partly on the roof.

Tower-like Structures — Structures shall be deemed to be tower-like structures when the height of the tower-like portion is at least twice the height of the broader base at ground level. 

 VERANDAH — A covered area with at least one side open to the outside with the exception of 1 m high parapet on the upper floors to be provided on the open side.

 Volume to Plot Area Ratio (VPR) — The ratio of the volume of the building measured in cubic meters to the area of the plot measured in square meters and expressed in meters. 

Water-Closet (WC) — A water flushed plumbing fixture designed to receive human excrement directly from the user of the fixture. The term is used sometimes to designate the room or compartment in which the fixture is placed.

 Window — An opening to the outside other than a door, which provides all or part of the required natural light or ventilation or both to an interior space.