HYDERABAD: All layout approvals in the Core Urban Region (CURE), covering Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) and Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC), will now be handled by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).
Under orders issued by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department, HMDA has been vested with full responsibility for fresh layout approvals in the 2,053 sq km core urban region.
Applicants seeking new layout approvals in CURE must now approach HMDA. Applications already under process on the date of the order will be disposed of by the authority to which they were originally submitted.
GHMC officials said over 1.07 lakh applications were received under LRS-2020. These will continue to be processed by GHMC upon payment of prescribed regularisation charges. The new orders apply to fresh layout approvals.
The government has also empowered HMDA to grant building permissions for all high-rise structures above 10 floors across CURE. Until now, GHMC cleared high-rise buildings within its limits, while HMDA handled those outside GHMC but within the metropolitan region. HMDA will now be the sole authority for such approvals in CURE.
Municipal corporations are said to be concerned about the move, as layout and building permission fees form a major share of their revenues, generating several hundred crores annually. These funds are used for civic works such as roads, sanitation, drainage and street lighting.