THE LUDHIANA MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS 
BUILDING BYE-LAWS 1997

 TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT

1) These building by-laws may be called the Municipal Corporation (Erection and re-erection of building) Bye-laws, 1997.
2) These shall come into force at once. 
3) These building bye-laws shall apply to the entire area of Municipal Corporations or to such other areas, as the State Government may extend by notification in the official gazette. 

 DEFINITIONS

i) Abut: A building is said to abut on a street when the outer face of any of its external walls is on the street, road boundry. 
ii) Act: Means the Punjab Municipal corporation Act, 1976. 
iii) Applicant: Applicant shall mean the person who gives a notice to the Commissioner/Administrator/Competent authority of his intention to erect or re-erect a building and shall include his legal representatives.
iv) Architect: Architect shall have same meaning assigned to it as in the Architects Act, 1972.
v) Architectural Control: means control of horizontal/vertical projections from the walls of the building and to restrict the height on any site exposed to the view from the street/road. Similarly architectural control sheets shall mean sheets/drawings with directions as mentioned above and signed and retained by competent authority. 
vi) Area in Relation to the Building: Means the superficial or a horizontal section thereof made at plinth level inclusive of the external walls and of such portion of the party walls as being of the building. 
vii) Building: Means walled and roofed / structure built for temporary or permanent use either for habitation or for storage or for an industry or for business use or. 
a) Addition to the building: means addition to the cubic contents or to the floor area of the building. 
b) Ancillary Building in the residential area: shall mean a building attached to or serving the main residential building and shall include buildings such as garage, store, rooms, fuel store, servant quarters but shall not include annexe or a guest house capable of use as independent dwelling unit. 
c) Ancillary building in an industrial area: shall mean a building ancillary to or serving the main industrial building and shall include administrative building godowns, cycle-sheds, dispensary, canteen, electric sub-station and quarters for watch and ward staff, but shall not include residential accommodation for the superior staff. 
d) Categories of building: shall mean a building in one of the following five categories:
 
i) Residential building
ii) Commercial Building
iii) Industrial or warehouse building
iv) Public building/institutional building
v) Mixed landuse building. 


viii) Basement or Cell or: shall mean the lower storey of the building immediately below or partly below the ground level. 
ix) Bressummer: shall mean the beam or a girder which carries load of wall or slab. 
x) Balcony: shall mean a cantilevered horizontal projection at the roof level from the wall of a building without any vertical support and having a balustrade or railing not exceeding one meter in height and intended for human use. 
xi) Barsati: shall be a habitable space on the top roof of the building with/without toilet facility. 
xii) Building Line: means a fixed line specified for a site beyond which no building within the site other than compound wall shall project. 
xiii) Canopy: shall mean a cantilevered projection from the face of the wall over an entry to the building at the lintel level provided that:

1) It shall not project beyond the plot line. 
2) It shall not exceed 7 square meters or 75 sq. ft. in area. 
3) It shall not be lower than 2.3 mtrs. Or 7’-6” when measured from the ground. 
4) It shall not be allowed at more than one entry. 
5) It shall not extend more than 1.8 meters or 6 ft. beyond the building line. 
6) There shall be no structure on it and the top shall remain open to sky. 
xiv) Chhaja or Sun Shade: shall mean a sloping or horizontal structural overhang, usually provided over openings or external walls to provide protection from sun/rain only upto 18” in width. 
xv) Compound/Compromise: means an act to settle amicably or adjust by agreement or to agree for consideration, but not prosecute for an offence of violations of building constructions or building bye-laws or to construct without permission of the competent authority or changing the prescribed use of land. 
xvi) Conversion: means the change of occupancy of a premises, in character, form or function to a use, requiring additional permission from the competent authority. 
xvii) Conversion of landuse: means:-
 
a) the change or conversion from the existing laduse of any specific property or part of property to any other conforming landuse if allowed by competent authority, on the request of bonafide land owner who submits his appeal for the change of existing landuse, immediately before the submission of building application. 
b) The change of landuse or conversion of landuse to be allowed after special appeal shall be as follows:
i) From the residential use to commercial use. 
ii) From the residential use to educational use. 
iii) From the residential use to religious use and public institution use.
iv) From residential use to public service use like dispensary, clinic or beauty parlour, etc. 
v) From industrial / commercial to residential or any other compatible use. 


xviii) Covered Area: means ground area covered by the building immediately above plinth level but does not include the space covered by:

a) Compound wall, gate, canopy, uncovered by Chhaja upto 18” for all kinds of buildings except commercial building, cantileavered porch portico, slide-swing and the extensions alike. 
b) Garden, rockery, well and well structures, plant, nursery, water pool, swimming pool (if uncovered), platform around a tree, tank, fountain, bench, Chabutra with open top and unenclosed on sides by walls. 
c) Drainage, culvert, conduit, catch-pit, gully pit, chamber, gutter and the like. 
d) Cantileavered roof projection upto 3’-0” projected from the finished level of the wall to the extent of maximum 50% of the circumference of the covered area at each floor. 
e) Cantileavered projection is allowed in commercial buildings upto 3’-0” and does not form part of covered area. 
f) The porch/portico or garage shall be allowed in the side set back area provided the width of the side sat-back area is not less than 9 ft. & shall cover only 1/3rd of the total depth of the plot, and shall have the clear height of 8’-3”. However, it shall be counted as covered area. 
xix) Chimney: means an upright shaft containing or encasting one or more flues. 
xx) Commercial Building: shall mean a building used or constructed or adopted to be used wholly or partially for shops, private offices, banks, nursing homes, hotels, restaurants, beauty parlours, boutiques, video libraries, marriage palaces, cinemas and auditoriums or any other such building used for similar purpose engaged in trade and commerce, but shall not include industries. 
xxi) Damp Proof: means a course consisting of appropriate water proofing material provided to prevent penetration of dampness or moisture to any part of the structure from within or outside including tar felting, bitumen or any other aqua roof material. 
xxii) Drainage: means act, process, method or means of drainage, mode of discharge of water; the system of drains. 
xxiii) Dwelling: means a building or a portion thereof which is designed or used wholly or principally for residential purpose. 
xxiv) Encroachment: Means an act to enter into the possession or rights either of permanent or temporary nature on a land or built up property of local body or state / central government. 
xxv) Engineer: shall mean a person holding any of the Division of Institute of Engineers (India) for its associate membership and registered as such with the competent authority, for preparation of building plans, structural designs and for supervision of building constructions. 
xxvi) Exit: means a passage, channel or means of excess from any building, storey or floor area to a street or other open space. 
xxvii) External Air or Open Air space: means space open to sky. 
xxviii) External Wall: shall mean an outer wall or vertical enclosure of any building not being a party wall even though adjoining to wall of another building, and shall include a wall abutting on an interior open space of any building, but shall not include an outer verandah wall. 
xxix) Re-erection/Addition and Alteration of Building: Includes:
a) Any material alteration or enlargement of any building. 
b) The conversion by structural alteration into a place for human habitation of any building not originally constructed for human habitation. 
c) The conversion into more than one place for human habitation of a building originally constructed as one such place. 
d) The conversion of two or more places of human habitation into a greater number of such places. 
e) Such alteration of a building effecting change in its drainage or sanitary arrangements. 


(Note: Other than the above shall be referred towards repair of a building)

xx) Fire Resisting Material: means material which has appropriate degree of fire resistance. 
xxi) Floor: means the lower surface of a storey on which one normally walks in a building. The general term 'floor' unless specifically mentioned, shall not refer to a mezzanine floor. 
xxii) Floor Area Ratio (F.A.R.): means the ratio derived by dividing the total covered area on all floors by the total area of plot:

F.A.R. = Total covered area of all floors / plot area

xxiii) Foundation: means the part of the structure which is in direct contact with the transmitting load to the ground. 
xxiv) Gallery: means an intermediate floor or platform projecting from a wall of an auditorium or a hall providing extra floor area, additional seating accommodation, etc. It shall also include the structure provided for seating in stadia. 
xxv) Garrage Private: means a building or a portion thereof, designed and used for parking of private vehicles. 
xxvi) Garrage Public: means a building or portion thereof, other than a private garrage designed or used for repairing / servicing of vehicles. 
xxvii) Ground Floor: shall mean storey which has its floor surface nearest to the ground around the building. 
xxviii) Group Housing: means a building unit constructed or to be constructed with one or more floors having more than two dwelling units having common service facilities. 
xxix) Habitable Room: means a room occupied or designed for occupancy by one or more persons for study, living room, not including bath rooms, water closet compartments, laundries, serving and storage pantries, corridors, cellars, attics and spaces that are not used frequently or during extended longer period. 
x1 Height: means the maximum distance measured from the bottom (the crown of the adjoining roads) to the top of the building / structure standing upright:

a) the vertical distance measured in case of flat roof from the average level of the crown of the road or adjoining ground around and contiguous to the building or as decided by the competent authority to the highest point of the building. 
b) In case of pitched roof upto the point where the external surface of the outer wall intersects the furnished surface of the sloping roof. 
c) In case of gables roof facing the road the mid point between the level and the ridge. 


x1(i) Minimum Ceiling Height of rooms: means every habitable room in any building shall be in every part at least 9' in height from the floor to the underside of the roof slab or ceiling except where the building is to be air-conditioned the minimum ceiling height shall be 8' in every part. 
x1(ii) Height of Mezzanine: 

a) a mezzanine or internal balcony shall not be permitted unless the height of the room is atleast 5.2 metres or 17' (total clear height of the room) and such mezzanine floor or balconies do not cover more than 1/3rd of the room area and accessible only from lower floor. 
Mezzanine floor: means a gallery, balcony, or loft or an interior floor not so constructed as to be capable of habitation, use for living, sleeping, erected between the floor and the ceiling of any storey not less than seventeen feet in height. 
b) the height of such mezzanine floor or internal balcony shall not be less than 2.3 meters or 7' and it shall not be lower than 2.3 meters above the floor area level. 
(iii) Lobby: means a covered space in which all the adjoining rooms open. 
iv) Loft: means an intermediate floor in between two main floor but not less than 4 ft. In height which may be adopted or constructed for storage purposes, and at a height of not less than 2.3 meters or 7' from ground floor at door level. 
v) Mumti or Stair Cover: means a cabin like structure with a covering roof over a stair case and its landing built to enclose only the stairs for the purpose of providing protection from weather and not used for human habitation. 
vi) Material change of use: means a change from one category of building to another. 
vii) Owner: is a person, group of persons, a company, trust, institute, registered body, state or central government and its subordinate departments undertakings and like in whose name the property stands registered in the revenue records. 
viii) Parapet: means a low wall built along the edge of a road or a floor not more than 3 ft. In height. 
ix) Parking: 
a) Private Parking: if such parking is used / provided exclusively for private parking of vehicles. 
b) Public Parking: if such space is used exclusively for public parking for vehicles together with drive-way connecting the parking space with street or alley permitting safe and convenient ingress and egress of vehicles. 
x) Partition wall: means a wall which supports no load other than its own weight. 
xi) Party Wall: means 
a) a wall forming part of building and being used or constructed to be used in any part of the height or length of such wall for separate of adjoining buildings belonging to different owners or occupied or constructed or adopted to be occupied or constructed or adopted to be occupied by different persons, or 
b) a wall forming part of a building and standing in any part of the length of such wall, to a greater extent than the projection of the footing on one side on grounds of different owners. 
x1vi) Plinth: means the portion of a structure between the surface of the surrounding ground and surface of the floor, immediately above the ground. 
x1vii) Plinth Level: means the level of the ground floor of a building with respect to the adjoining ground. 
X1viii) Plinth Height: means the height of the ground floor above the street level measured for the level of the centre of the adjoining street. 
X1ix) Public Sewer: means a sewar constructed by the government or local body.
I) Plot: means a parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by one main building together with its accessory buildings including the open spaces having frontage upon a public street / streets or upon a private street / streets and enclosed by definite boundaries.
I(i) Porch: means a covered surface supported on pillars of otherwise for the purpose of pedestrian or vehicular approach to a building. 
I(ii) Setback line: means a line usually parallel with the center line of the road or street or to the boundary of the plot and laid down in each case by competent authority beyond which nothing can be constructed towards the load or the side walls. 
I(iii) 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, than the space between any floor and the ceiling next above it. 
I(iv) Town Planner: means a person holding postgraduate degree or equivalent diploma in the City / Town planning or Regional Planning and recognised by the Institute of Town Planners' (India) for its associate membership. 
I(v) An-authorised Construction: means the erection or re-erection, addition or alternations which is not approved or sanctioned by the competent authority. 
I(vi) Ventilation: Means the circulation of air in each and every habitable room of the building including toilets and kitchen. 
I(vii) Water Flush Latrine (Water Closet): means a latrine from which excreta are removed by water carriage, but it does not include a bathroom. 
I(viii) Window: means an opening to the outside other than a door which provide all or part of required natural light and ventilation or both to an interior space. 
NOTE: words and expressions not defined in these by-laws shall have the same meaning or the sense as are contained in the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.