The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has added several high-premium areas to its purview due to its recent expansion, but may have to share revenue from these areas with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in the future.
It is reliably learned that the proposal to retain part of the town planning services in the extended GHMC area with HMDA has been approved by the state government.
In the last GHMC board meeting, corporator Sravan Vurapalli spoke against the proposal and demanded that every paisa generated under the purview of GHMC should belong to the corporation.
The proposal, reportedly moved by HMDA Commissioner Sarfaraz Ahmed, sought to retain HMDA as the sanctioning authority for structures of more than 10 floors in the entire GHMC extended area.
As a result, GHMC cannot expect land-use revenue from high-value real estate areas like Kokapet, Narsingi, Budvel, Tellapur and several other locations where 40-60 storey skyscrapers are the norm. Even in the eastern part of the city, high-rise towers are on the rise, an example being the 72-storey residential tower that is rising in Ghatkesar.
With property prices skyrocketing, builders and homeowners alike are flocking to skyscrapers across the city, which plays into HMDA’s favor.
Before the expansion, the GHMC’s power to approve building permits was vested in municipalities or corporations only for structures up to 15 meters in height. HMDA was the approval authority for multi-storied buildings that are more than 15 meters (five stories) tall. In the erstwhile GHMC area, the corporation was the sole authority for all building permits.
However, the latest proposal transfers the powers to approve building permits for structures of more than 10 floors, even under the erstwhile purview of the GHMC, to HMDA.
Officials said the proposal was made keeping in mind the retention of HMDA revenue as all the emerging clusters which were earlier under various ULBs have come into the hands of the GHMC through a recent merger.
“HMDA needs funds for several ongoing infrastructure projects. It will take time to develop new growth areas outside the fringes of the expanded GHMC that will generate revenue for HMDA. Hence the need for this revenue sharing arrangement,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Sources, however, attribute this to the government’s motive to have centralized control over high-premium projects following the reportedly imminent move to split the GHMC into three separate corporations.
Published – 05 Feb 2026 20:38 IST
