IS 1200 Part 1 – Billing and Mode of Measurement of Earth Excavation Works ( As per CPWD Specification ) अर्थवर्क (Earth Excavation) का बिलिंग और मापन (CPWD स्पेसिफिकेशन के अनुसार)

Earthwork means digging and filling the ground for building and road projects. To pay the contractor correctly and avoid confusion, we need to measure this work in the right way. IS 1200 Part 1 is the Indian Standard rule book that tells us how to measure earth excavation properly. This guide is very important for construction quantity surveying, earthwork estimation, and project billing.

जब हम साइट पर खुदाई (Excavation) का काम करते हैं, तो उसका बिल (Payment) और मापन (Measurement) IS 1200 Part 1 और CPWD स्पेसिफिकेशन के हिसाब से किया जाता है।

Why Earthwork Measurement is Important

• Fair Payment: Contractor gets money for the exact work done.
• No Arguments: Clear rules avoid disputes between client and contractor.
• Budget Control: Helps in checking cost and planning of excavation.
• Better Planning: Makes it easy to know how much labour, machines, and material are needed.

Main Points of IS 1200 Part 1

1. Types of Soil in Excavation

Excavation is divided into categories because digging soft soil is easy but digging hard rock is difficult and costly. IS 1200 gives these categories:

• Ordinary soil
• Hard soil
• Soft or broken rock
• Hard rock (blasting allowed)
• Hard rock (blasting not allowed)

This helps in accurate excavation cost calculation.

2. How many types of Excavation work

    1^st Surface Dressing ( सतह साफ करना )

    ·  Just cleaning and levelling the ground Upto 150MM un even surface and measure in Square meter.
        Example 10M length and 15M width  ( 10 X 15M ) = 150 SQM Area
    ·  Remove grass, small plants, stones, or loose soil.
        Think of it like sweeping and making the ground neat before actual digging

        ज़मीन को साफ़ करना – घास-फूस, झाड़ियाँ, पत्थर या ऊपरी ढीली मिट्टी हटाना।

   2^nd  Surface Excavation ( ऊपरी खुदाई )

·         Digging the top thin layer of soil (not very deep, up to upto 300MM  and measure in Square   meter.
 Example 10M length and 15M width  ( 10 X 15M ) = 150 SQM Are
 Done for preparing roads, floors, or foundations.
 Like scraping off the top skin of the land

ज़मीन की सिर्फ पतली परत (30 सेमी तक) हटाना।
उदाहरण: जैसे खेत जोतने के लिए ऊपरी मिट्टी हटाई जाती है ताकि नया काम (सड़क, फर्श, नींव) शुरू हो सके।

            Rule: Removing Trees and Hedges (IS 1200 part 1 )

             What to remove?

• Shrubs (झाड़ियाँ)
• Brushwood (सूखी झाड़ियाँ/टहनियाँ)
• Small trees up to 300 mm girth (circumference).
• Tree girth more then 300MM before removing approval from forest & Engineer In-charge.

         पेड़ हटाने का नियम (300 मिमी से ज़्यादा मोटाई वाला पेड़)

        अगर किसी साइट पर पेड़ का तना (गिर्थ) 300 मिमी से बड़ा है, तो उसे हटाने से पहले वन          विभाग  (Forest Department) और इंजीनियर-इन-चार्ज से लिखित अनुमति (Approval)
लेना  ज़रूरी है

      How to measure?

• Work will be measured in square meter ( m² ).
• This includes cutting + removing + disposing (सब काम शामिल है)।

           Where to measure girth (tree size)?

•                                                  Tree’s girth (circumference) is measured at 1 meter above ground.
  
  Easy Example:
  If you are clearing a ground area of 150 m² with shrubs and a few small trees (less than 300 mm girth measured at 1 m height), then you will measure 150 m² of clearing work.

 3^rd Rough Excavation (मोटा खुदाई काम)

👉 गहराई तक मिट्टी खोदना लेकिन साइड और बॉटम को बराबर-साफ नहीं किया जाता।
उदाहरण: जैसे तालाब खोदते समय मिट्टी बड़े-बड़े टुकड़ों में निकालते हैं, सफाई बाद में की जाती है।

2. Depth (Lift) in Measurement

• Excavation is measured in cubic meters (length × width × depth).
• Every 1.5 m depth is counted separately, because deeper digging costs more.
• This is very useful for earthwork quantity surveying.

3. Lead (Distance)

• Lead means how far the excavated soil is carried.
• Measurement is taken in every 30 m distance.
• More distance = more cost of earthwork transportation.

4. What is Counted / Not Counted

• No deduction for small holes, stones, or roots up to 0.1 m³.
• Filling, backfilling, and compaction are measured separately.

Simple Example of Earth Excavation

If you dig a trench of 10 m length, 1.5 m width, and 2 m depth:

• Volume = 10 × 1.5 × 2 = 30 m³
• Depth more than 1.5 m means extra lift is added.
• If soil is thrown 90 m away = 3 leads.

This is how earthwork quantity calculation as per IS 1200 is done.

Conclusion

IS 1200 Part 1 makes sure earth excavation is measured in the same way everywhere in India. This helps in fair billing, less confusion, and better control on construction projects. It is a must-follow guideline for civil engineers, quantity surveyors, and contractors dealing with earthwork excavation measurement.