Introduction — What the Hyderabad Master Plan – 2031 is and why it matters

The Hyderabad Master Plan 2031 is a rulebook for city growth. HMDA prepared it to map how land and infrastructure should develop until 2031. The plan covers nearly 5,965 sq km and aims to manage housing, roads, industry, water bodies, forests and open spaces. It sets land use rules that guide where homes, business parks, factories, parks and special conservation areas should go.

The plan matters because it affects property approvals, road planning, and environmental protection. It also affects where developers can build and what local people can expect in services like water and transport.

HMDA Master Plan 2031 — Background and scope

In 2013, the government notified the HMDA Master Plan 2031. The plan covers the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region (HMR). The mapped area is 5,965 sq km. HMDA organizes the region into zones. It includes GHMC areas, Sangareddy and Bhongir municipalities and 849 villages. The plan aims to balance growth, protect key natural assets, and plan transport.

Key points from the plan:

• It focuses on balanced, integrated development across the region.
• It maps where green zones, parks and open space must exist.
• It includes transport planning (roads, ring roads, highways and airport-linked areas).
• It protects water bodies, forests and wildlife.

The plan gives a structure that local Mandal plans must follow. HMDA’s goal is to guide growth so services reach more people and to reduce chaotic development.

Area, population and and why they matter

Key numbers:

• Area covered: 5,965 sq km — a large region that includes Hyderabad and many surrounding towns and villages.
• Population forecast: roughly 184–185 lakh people by 2031 (that’s ~18.4–18.5 million). This determines how much housing, roads, water and services the plan aims to provide. 

Why these numbers matter for you:

• Zoning and road plans use these projections to decide where new housing and business centres go.
• If you buy land, the plan’s zone and the presence of planned roads or nodes will affect future demand and approvals.
• Developers look at population and transport corridors first; those corridors often gain value.

Vision, structure and population targets

The HMDA Master Plan 2031 sets a clear vision: a coherent, sustainable Hyderabad Metropolitan Region. To reach that, the plan:

• Uses a radial-concentric development model — growth rings expand outwards from the city center.
• Proposes new urban nodes and centers along radial corridors. Each node will provide jobs, services and local infrastructure.
• Plans a hierarchy of circulation networks (local roads, major arterial roads, ring roads) to match the growth pattern and mobility needs.

The plan also includes a Peri-urban Zone to control sprawl, preserve farmland and protect natural resources. If followed, the plan intends to spread growth fairly and keep essential services accessible.

Land use zones — the 12-zone system

HMDA divides the HMR into 12 land-use zones. Each zone has rules for what can be built and which activities can occur.

Zone	Purpose / what it covers
Residential (R1, R2, R3, R4)	Homes, group housing, local shops and community services
Peri-Urban	Buffer to protect agriculture and control sprawl (25% buildable)
Commercial	Business areas, offices, retail and trade
Manufacturing	Industrial use and work centers
Multiple Use	Near ORR; mixes residential and other permitted uses
Public/Semi-Public	Schools, hospitals, government offices, utilities
Forest	Protected greenery — no other activities
Water Bodies	Rivers, lakes, tanks (e.g., Himayat Sagar)
Agriculture/Conservation	Farming and lands for crops, pastures
Traffic & Transportation	Roads, rail, terminals, airports
Recreation & Open Space	Parks, playgrounds, afforestation zones
Special Reservations	Heritage, defense lands, bio-conservation, other reserves

This zoning creates order. It tells planners and developers where specific uses can occur. It also helps the public check if a proposed project fits local rules.

Residential zones — rules, permitted and non-permitted activities

Residential zones are split into R-1 to R-4. The plan keeps these areas mainly for housing but allows specific supporting uses. The idea is to preserve neighborhood feel while letting essential services operate.

Activities permitted in Residential Zones 1–3 (selected list):

• All types of residential buildings
• Auditoriums, bakeries, confectioneries
• Banks, bus stands, bus depots (no workshop)
• Cinema halls on large plots (≥ 3,000 sq m with 18 m road)
• Clubs, computer software units / IT-enabled services
• Community centres, customary home occupation
• Doctors’ clinics, educational institutions, libraries
• Group housing / apartment complexes
• Health facilities (up to 20 beds)
• Guest houses, hostels, hotels (large plots only)
• Parks/tot lots, petrol pumps, police stations, post offices
• Restaurants/eating places, retail shopping centres
• Research institutes, technical training centres, yoga centers

Non-permitted activities in Zones 1–3 (selected list):

• Botanical garden, courts of law, heavy industries
• Indoor/outdoor stadiums, obnoxious and hazardous industries
• Hospitals treating contagious diseases, large storage godowns
• Solid waste dumping yards, large warehouses, bus workshops
• Zoological gardens

Residential Zone-4 allows many local services as well, with some limits (e.g., stables for up to five domestic animals per plot).

These lists show HMDA’s effort to balance daily needs with safety and livability.

Peri-Urban Zone and conservation rules

The Peri-Urban Zone is a protective belt between the city and rural land. It aims to:

• limit uncontrolled sprawl,
• preserve agricultural land, wetlands and forests, and
• allow only limited built-up area so farming and ecology survive.

Practical rules (short):

• 25% of land may be usable for construction in many peri-urban parcels (check local regs).
• Height caps: residential often limited to 15 meters, commercial up to 18 meters (subject to conditions).

What this means:

• Plots in peri-urban areas may have limited buildable area and strict rules. This lowers immediate development intensity but keeps long-term land value linked to planned growth corridors. If you buy peri-urban land, factor in lower FAR (floor area ratio) and the time it might take to get permissions for larger projects.

Transport, circulation networks and the radial-concentric model

The plan uses a radial-concentric model: development spreads out along radial corridors from the city center with concentric rings (like inner ring road, outer ring road). The idea is to distribute growth to new urban nodes instead of letting everything cluster in the centre.

To support the pattern, HMDA proposes a hierarchy of circulation networks:

• Local streets for neighborhoods
• Major arterial roads for citywide movement
• Ring roads and expressways for longer trips

This hierarchy helps move people and goods while linking new nodes to the central areas.

Key Highlights:

• Major roads, highways, and planned ring roads are core infrastructure drivers.
• New urban nodes get higher service provision (water, sewage, public transport) and become preferred spots for housing and offices.
• A hierarchy of roads (regional highways → arterial roads → local roads) helps traffic flow and sets where densification can happen.

For buyers and developers:

• Check if a plot lies on a planned corridor or near a node — that often raises demand.
• Be cautious about plots on proposed roads: they can gain value but may be subject to land acquisition or setbacks.

New urban nodes and urban centers

HMDA plans new urban nodes and centers in all directions. These centers:

• Sit along radial corridors from the central business district.
• Offer space for jobs, shops and services.
• Reduce pressure on the city center by distributing growth.
• Link to the circulation hierarchy so transit and roads make sense.

The nodes are places where the local economy can grow—small business areas, offices and community services. They make development more balanced across the metropolitan region.

Mandal-wise planning — Hyderabad Master Plan – 2031

HMDA prepared mandal-wise master plans. These maps show fine details and rules for each mandal (local administrative area). The Master Plan covers 70 mandals in seven districts: Medak, Rangareddy, Sangareddy, Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda. Mandal list includes:

S.No	Mandal Name	District Name
1	Bibinagar	Yadadri Bhuvanagiri
2	Bommalaramaram	Yadadri Bhuvanagiri
3	Buvanagiri	Yadadri Bhuvanagiri
4	Chevella	Ranga Reddy
5	Choutuppal	Yadadri Bhuvanagiri
6	Faruqnagar	Ranga Reddy
7	Ghatkesar	Medchal-Malkajgiri
8	Hatnura	Medak
9	Hayathnagar	Ranga Reddy
10	Ibrahimpatnam Manchal	Ranga Reddy
11	Jinnawaram FPLU	Medak
12	Kandukur	Ranga Reddy
13	Kesara	Medchal-Malkajgiri
14	Kothuru	Ranga Reddy
15	Maheshwaram	Ranga Reddy
16	Medchal-Qutubullapur	Medchal-Malkajgiri
17	Moinabad-Rajendranagar	Ranga Reddy
18	Mulug	Medak
19	Narsapur	Medak
20	Patancheruvu	Sangareddy
21	Pochampalli	Nalgonda
22	Sangareddy	Sangareddy
23	Shahbad	Ranga Reddy
24	Shamirpet	Medchal-Malkajgiri
25	Shamshabad	Ranga Reddy
26	Shankarpalli-Ramchandrapuram	Sangareddy
27	Shivampet	Medak
28	Tupran	Medak
29	Wargal	Medak
30	Yacharam	Ranga Reddy

The Mandal-wise master plans are prepared with regard to local conditions and requirements and at the same time harmonize with the HMDA Master Plan 2031.

Why this matters:

• A zone on a region map can have special conditions at mandal level.
• Permitted uses, plot subdivision rules, and special reservations often appear only in mandal plans.
• Local exceptions (heritage precincts, defense lands, forest patches) can change what you can build.

HMDA Master Plan Zone-Wise Classification

Activities permitted in Residential Zones 1-3

• All types of residential buildings
• Auditoriums
• Bakeries and confectioneries
• Banks, burial grounds/ cremation ground
• Bus stands
• Bus depots without workshop
• Cinema halls on plots above 3,000 sq meters and abutting roads of minimum 18 meters width
• Clubs
• Computer software units /IT-enabled services
• Community centers
• Customary home occupation/household units
• Dharamshala
• Doctors’ clinics and dispensaries
• Educational institutions
• Electrical distribution station
• Electronic printing press
• Exhibition and art gallery
• Gymnasium
• Fire stations
• Foreign missions
• Group housing/apartment complexes
• Health facilities with not more than 20 beds
• Function halls on plots above 3,000 sq meters and abutting roads of minimum 18 meters width
• Guest houses
• Hostels and boarding houses
• Hotels on plots of above 2,000 sq meters and abutting roads of a minimum width of 18 meters
• Library
• Games facilities of local nature, both, indoor and outdoor
• Night shelters
• Motor vehicle repairing workshops/garages
• Municipal, state, and central government offices
• Parks/tot lots
• Petrol pumps
• Plant nursery
• Police check posts
• Police stations
• Post offices
• Professional offices
• Public utilities and buildings except for service and storage yards
• Religious premises
• Research institutes
• Restaurants/eating places
• Retail shopping centers
• Showroom for sale and distribution of LPG
• Taxi stand/three-wheeler stands
• Technical training center
• Transit visitors’ camp
• Water pumping station
• Weekly markets
• Informal market (informal sector activities)
• Yoga centers/health clinics

Non-permitted Activities in Zones 1-3

• Botanical garden
• Courts of law
• Heavy, large, and extensive industries
• Indoor games stadium
• International conference center
• Obnoxious and hazardous industries
• Outdoor games stadium
• Reformatory
• Hospitals treating contagious and infectious diseases
• Storage godowns of perishable, hazardous, and inflammable goods
• Solid waste dumping yards
• Warehousing
• Storage of gas cylinders
• Water treatment plants
• Wholesale mandis
• Workshops for buses
• Zoological gardens

Activities permitted in Residential Zone-4

• All types of residential buildings
• Banks
• Bus stands
• Clinics, dispensaries, primary health sub-centers
• Community centers and social institutions
• Customary home occupation/household units
• Municipal, state, and central government offices
• Parks and playgrounds
• Professional offices/ personal services establishments
• Public utilities and buildings, except service and storage yards
• Religious places
• Restaurants/eating places
• Retail shops
• Repair service establishments
• Schools
• Stables for domestic animals, subject to a limit of five animals on each plot
• Storage of crops, fodder, manure, agricultural implements, and other similar needs

Activities not mentioned in the list are prohibited in this zone.

Types of land development and approval routes under HMDA

HMDA allows multiple types of land development. These routes offer different ways to assemble land and deliver infrastructure:

• Land Pooling / Area Development Schemes — combine small land parcels for coordinated development.
• Layout Development Schemes — create plots and roads for sale or development.
• Group Housing Schemes — building apartment complexes with shared services.
• Group Development Schemes — coordinated multi-plot development.
• Township Development — mixed-use, large-scale projects with housing and services.
• SEZ Development — special economic zones for export or industrial activity.
• Individual plot sub-division / amalgamation — standard private land changes.

The plan also enables Development Schemes & Special Projects under the HMDA Act, 2008. Each development route has approval requirements. Developers must follow HMDA rules to obtain clearances and to ensure projects fit zoning and environmental rules.

What the plan means for buyers, builders and planners — expert view and practical advice

Expert view:

• Buyers: check the zone type before purchasing. A plot in a water body zone or forest zone has strict restrictions. Verify if a plot lies in R-1 to R-4 or a Peri-urban zone. Ask for HMDA approvals and Mandal-wise clearance.
• Builders: design projects to match the zone. Follow height rules, set aside open space and meet road width requirements. For peri-urban plots, remember the 25% buildable rule and height caps. Use approved routes like land pooling or group housing for larger schemes.
• Planners/officials: enforce node-based development and strengthen transport links. Focus on creating services in nodes so people do not travel long distances daily.

Practical checklist for a buyer or small developer

• Check HMDA Master Plan maps for the plot’s zone.
• Ask the seller for Mandal-wise plan compliance and clearances.
• Confirm road width and access — many rules tie permissions to road size.
• For peri-urban and agricultural land, review conversion rules and permissible construction share.
• Seek advice on development routes: is land pooling or township route better for the site?

• Confirm title and encumbrances at sub-registrar office.
• Check proximity to proposed or planned roads (alignment maps). Planned roads can be a benefit but may also require surrender. 
• Review zone restrictions: height caps, FAR, permitted uses, buffers around water bodies and forests.
• For developers: choose the right development route (land pooling, layout, group housing). 

A common planning example: A developer near ORR may use the Multiple Use Zone rules to mix housing and small offices. A farmer in peri-urban land can use up to 25% of land for built space while keeping rest for agriculture.

Quick glossary — Hyderabad Master Plan – 2031

• HMDA: Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority — the planning body.
• Mandal: Local administrative unit within the district.
• Peri-urban: Edge area between city and countryside with limited development rights.
• Land pooling: Method where owners exchange part of land for developed plots.
• FAR / FSI: Floor area ratio — how much you can build relative to plot area.

FAQs

Q: What area does HMDA Master Plan 2031 cover?
A: It spans about 5,965 sq km in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region.

Q: What population does it target by 2031?
A: It plans for 185 lakh people and 65 lakh workers.

Q: How many land use zones are in the plan?
A: There are 12 zones such as residential, peri-urban, commercial, and manufacturing.

Q: What is the role of the Peri-urban Zone?
A: It limits sprawl, safeguards farmland and natural resources, with only 25% construction allowed.

Q: Are forests and water bodies protected?
A: Yes, strict Forest and Water Body Zones prevent misuse.

Q: What does radial-concentric growth mean?
A: Development spreads in rings from the city with hubs along key corridors.

Q: What are new urban nodes?
A: Local centres planned along corridors to provide jobs and services outside the core city.

Q: Which Mandals fall under HMDA?
A: Several across seven districts, including Bibinagar, Chevella, Hayathnagar, Medchal, Sangareddy and more.

Q: What is allowed in Residential Zones?
A: Homes, shops, clinics, schools, parks, small hotels, restaurants, and IT units under set rules.

Q: What is banned in Residential Zones?
A: Heavy industries, big warehouses, dumping yards, stadiums, and zoos.

Q: How can land be developed?
A: Through land pooling, layouts, group housing, townships, SEZs, or subdivision.

Q: What approvals are needed to build?
A: HMDA or Mandal permissions based on zone rules, plot size, road width, and environmental norms.

Q: Can agricultural land be converted in peri-urban areas?
A: Limited construction is allowed but formal conversion approval is usually required.

Q: What transport plans exist?
A: Roads, ring roads, hubs, and growth links through a clear circulation network.

Q: How does this impact property value?
A: Areas with planned infrastructure and clear approvals see better demand and prices.