Hyderabad Lakes: FTL and Buffer Zone Check

The dominant legal risk in Hyderabad real estate since mid-2024 is buying property within a lake's FTL or buffer zone. HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency), formed on 19 July 2024, operates within the Telangana Core Urban Region up to the Outer Ring Road and has already reclaimed 43.94 acres and demolished 18 properties within the ORR limits. The critical problem for buyers: HMDA and GHMC previously issued building and layout permissions based on NOCs from the irrigation and revenue departments. Those NOCs have in multiple documented cases proven unreliable. Demolitions proceeded regardless of prior permissions.

The governing regulation is G.O.Ms.No.168, issued by the MA&UD Department on 7 April 2012, which established the buffer zone distances that HYDRAA now enforces. HYDRAA has clarified that residential properties constructed before July 2024 with valid government approvals will not be demolished, but commercial buildings in FTL or buffer zones face demolition regardless of construction date. Any structure whose building permission has been withdrawn is treated as illegal.

In the Nalla Cheruvu case at Kukatpally, HYDRAA found that 14 of the lake's 27 acres had been encroached. More than 50 structures including apartment buildings occupied four acres of buffer zone, with 25 additional buildings standing directly inside three acres of FTL. At Neknampur in Manikonda, four villas from a complex costing approximately Rs 2 crore each were demolished in January 2025 after Manikonda municipality cancelled building permissions that should never have been granted. An HMDA-issued NOC does not override the FTL boundary. If the lake's FTL line runs through the plot, the property is in jeopardy.

The risk is not uniformly distributed. Areas near major cheruvus (lakes) in the western and north-western zones, as well as lakeside micro-markets in south Hyderabad, face the greatest exposure. Confirmed HYDRAA demolitions from 2024 to 2025 are concentrated in specific localities, and those same localities are where buyers need to run the FTL check before signing any agreement.

Nalla Cheruvu (Kukatpally), Durgam Cheruvu (Madhapur), Neknampur / Ibrahim Cheruvu (Manikonda), and Medikunta Cheruvu (Nanakramguda) have all seen active HYDRAA action or formal inspections. The 13 lakes identified as suffering rampant encroachments include Sunnam Cheruvu near Kukatpally, Gosaikunta Cheruvu at Goulidoddi, Nallagandla Cheruvu in Nallagandla, Maddela Kunta near Saroornagar, Nalla Cheruvu in Uppal, Amber Cheruvu in Kukatpally, and Chinna Damera Cheruvu in Dundigal. Property demand near Kukatpally Lake, Osman Sagar (Gandipet), Himayat Sagar, Saroornagar Lake, Nagole Lake, Durgam Cheruvu, and Peerzadiguda Lake dropped sharply from July 2024 onwards as HYDRAA's demolition drive proceeded.

The most misread zone is the G.O. 111 catchment area around Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar. Covering 84 villages within a 10 km radius of both reservoirs, G.O. 111 prohibits heavy construction and industrial use.

The previous BRS government issued G.O. 69on 12 April 2022to remove the restrictions under G.O. 111 for all 84 villages. The Telangana High Court subsequently directed the state in September 2023 to form a High-Powered Committee before any changes could take effect. That committee process remains incomplete, and G.O. 111 restrictions remain fully in force as of the date of writing. No timeline for resolution has been set. Buyers in Gandipet, Tellapur, Chevella Road, and Mokila must confirm G.O. 111 applicability before treating any plotted development there as legally safe.