₹80 per sq metre for residential, ₹270 for commercial buildings; common rates to apply across UT
TAUSEEF AHMAD
SRINAGAR, July 29: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has notified a uniform fee structure for building permissions across the Union Territory, bringing Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Municipal Committees and Development Authorities under a common framework.
The Housing & Urban Development Department, through Government Order No. 157-JK(HUD) of 2026 dated July 29, 2026, has notified the new Building Permission Fee Schedule under the Jammu & Kashmir Unified Building Bye-Laws, 2021. The order has come into force with immediate effect.
The move is aimed at addressing variations in building permission charges being levied by different Urban Local Bodies and Development Authorities and establishing greater uniformity in the approval process across Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the newly notified schedule, the building permission fee for residential buildings, including housing colonies, has been fixed at ₹80 per square metre. For commercial, public/semi-public, PSP, industrial and other special-category buildings, the fee has been prescribed at ₹270 per square metre.
For mixed-use buildings, the Government has fixed the permission fee at ₹150 per square metre.
The notification has also prescribed malba security of ₹3,000 as a lump sum for residential buildings, while the security for other categories of buildings has been fixed at ₹10,000 as a lump sum.
In cases involving compounding of building violations, the Government has prescribed a compounding fee equivalent to 40 per cent of the applicable building permission fee, in addition to the normal building permission fee.
The notification also provides an exemption from building permission fees for religious buildings.
The uniform fee structure will apply across all Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Municipal Committees and Development Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir. This means that applicants seeking permission for similar categories of construction will be subject to the same notified rates irrespective of the local authority under whose jurisdiction their property falls.
The Government has also directed that the revised fee schedule be integrated into the Online Building Permission System (OBPS)/Auto-DCR platform. The integration is intended to ensure that the applicable charges are calculated and applied uniformly while processing building permission applications.
In a significant provision aimed at preventing variations at the local level, the Government has made it clear that no Urban Local Body or Development Authority will be permitted to prescribe, revise, increase, reduce or otherwise alter the notified building permission fees without prior approval of the Housing & Urban Development Department.
All concerned authorities have consequently been directed to incorporate the new fee structure into their building permission procedures, public notices, citizen charters and online portals.
The order places responsibility for its implementation on the concerned senior officials, including Commissioners of Municipal Corporations, Vice Chairpersons of Development Authorities and Chief Executive Officers/Executive Officers of Municipal Councils and Committees.
The new framework is expected to provide greater clarity and predictability to property owners, builders, developers and other applicants seeking construction approvals. A common fee structure could also make it easier for applicants to determine the basic cost involved in securing building permission before commencing construction.
The notification is part of the Government’s broader effort to ensure uniform implementation of the Jammu & Kashmir Unified Building Bye-Laws, 2021 and streamline the building approval mechanism across the Union Territory.
The Government has retained the power to review the fee structure whenever considered necessary, with any future revision to be notified separately by the Housing & Urban Development Department.
The order has been issued by the Housing & Urban Development Department with the direction that the notified rates be implemented uniformly and strictly across Jammu and Kashmir, effectively replacing variations in building permission fees that may have existed among different local authorities.
