Is a balcony included in the constructed area when zoning?
Yes, if it is connected and fully usable. It is not treated as a cut or an extension; this will be explained later on a plan.
Related questions
If the plinth is a perfect right angle but balconies and projections stick out on the upper floors, is the shape irregular?
No, it is regular. Balconies are like the hair on a head; spreading hair does not change the shape of the body. The shape is the one in which the plinth beam and foundation were laid, because the underground current runs in that form.
On the first floor, a room or toilet is built out over the chhajja. Does it count in the shape?
Each floor is judged from its own base: a ground floor from its foundation, a first floor from the floor it stands on. Construction built out over chhajjas becomes part of that floor, and the centre of every floor changes with its own carpet area. If one family uses all the floors, the ground floor shape is the full shape, and a smaller upper floor, such as 25 x 25 over a 50 x 50 ground floor, does not make the plot cut.
A gallery or balcony outside a room was open at first and later covered; should it be included in the map?
Include it in both cases, covered or not. You go there and move around in it, so it counts as part of the house.
A regular plot has small strips of land left open at the side and the front. Do we leave them out or zone the complete plot?
Zone the complete plot. Almost the whole plot is in use and even the small strips are being used, so the full plot is taken for zoning and for the degree.
Are the 32 outer devtas drawn in the Manushya bhoomi or in the Pishach bhoomi?
In the Pishach bhoomi, the outermost band. The 32 outer devta lines are drawn only within the Pishach bhoomi, while the 12 inner devtas sit in the combined Manushya and Dev band and Brahma in the centre.
At what degree do the corner directions (vidisha) fall?
North-East, South-East, South-West and North-West fall exactly 45 degrees from the main directions. Where they fall in your own flat becomes clear once you do the zoning.