Panel to recommend 150 sq ft addl covered area

CHANDIGARH: The committee constituted by the UT administration to look into need based changes required in building byelaws, on Saturday decided to recommend allowing additional coverage to the extent of 150 square feet in marla houses governed by frame or architectural control and in kanal houses governed by architectural control.
An official news release said that in a meeting, chaired by deputy commissioner cum-estate officer Arun Kumar, the committee resolved that the additional covered area, which can be utilised for green house, storage, bath, toilet, etc, should not exceed the width and height (7 feet 6 inches) of the already permissible green house along the rear boundary wall with independent access.
A composite fee at the rate of Rs 10 per foot should be charged for the additional coverage.
Some of the members were for allowing 9 feet height for the additional coverage but the suggestions was turned down by the committee.
The members were informed that the ground coverage and FAR in Chandigarh was already greater than in the adjoining towns of Panchkula and Mohali.
The committee also recommended allowing projection or cantilever on first and second floor of marla houses, governed by frame or architectural control, not exceeding three feet from the building line in the front courtyard and at least three feet away from the common wall subject to the condition that its length does not exceed half the width of the plot. This facility will also come at a cost of Rs 10 per foot as composite fee.
A suggestion by some members that a similar projection or cantilever should also be allowed in the rear courtyard was turned down.
On the issue of allowing need-based changes in commercial buildings and dwelling units of the Chandigarh Housing Board, referred by the UT administration to the committee recently, the members decided to seek suggestions from the public by January 15 and discuss it in the next meeting to be held in February.
The issues of division of service lane and individual car parking and boundary wall were referred by the committee to the municipal corporation for action on its part.
The committee also decided to discuss the issue of additional accommodation in built up houses (cheap houses, tenements, industrial houses) and stairs from outside the building in the next meeting after taking the views of the technical sub-committee.
The committee resolved to discuss the issue of amendment in frame control of 14 marla houses in Sectors 34, 35 and 36 to accommodate more area of garage and coverage of rear courtyard in commercial buildings of Sector 7 in its next meeting.
Besides the chairman, the non-official members present were state Congress chief BB Bahl, state BJP chief Yash Pal Mahajan, state Shiromoni Akali Dal president Gurpartap Singh Riar, Ashok Bansal, RP Malhotra and Major DS Sandhu. The official members present were assistant estate officer NS Brar, senior town planner Arvind Mehtani, architect KIS Virdi, chief fire officer GS Bajwa and SDO (buildings) Sanjay Arora.