HMDA vs DTCP: Which Approval Should Your Plot Have, and Where FCDA Fits (2026)
Buyers often weigh HMDA vs DTCP as if one were a better grade of approval. However, it is not a ranking. Instead, HMDA and DTCP are two planning authorities covering two different areas. Since March 2025, a third, the Future City Development Authority, has also covered 56 villages in the south. So the useful question is not “which is better”. It is “which authority was competent for this village when it approved the layout, and does the number check out?”
Short answer: HMDA vs DTCP is a question of jurisdiction, not quality: HMDA approves layouts inside the Hyderabad metropolitan area, DTCP approves those outside it, and both are full statutory approvals. Since 12 March 2025, a third authority, the FCDA, covers 56 revenue villages over 765.28 sq km in the south, issuing permissions through BuildNow since December 2025.
Key takeaways
- ✓HMDA approves layouts inside the Hyderabad metropolitan area. DTCP, the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, is the route outside it. However, neither is a lesser approval.
- ✓Since 12 March 2025 (G.O.Ms.No.69), the FCDA is the planning authority for 56 revenue villages across 765.28 sq km. Of these, 36 came from HMDA and 20 from DTCP.
- ✓FCDA has accepted layout and building applications through BuildNow since December 2025, with no layout approvals reported as of 5 November 2026. So re-verify older HMDA or DTCP permissions in those villages.
- ✓“Approval applied for” and “LRS applied” are not approvals. Instead, ask for the LP number and check it with the authority that issued it.
HMDA vs DTCP: the difference at a glance
| HMDA | DTCP | FCDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority | Directorate of Town and Country Planning | Future City Development Authority |
| Where it approves | The Hyderabad metropolitan area | Areas outside the metropolitan authority’s limits | 56 revenue villages over 765.28 sq km, including villages in Kandukur and Maheswaram mandals |
| Since | Long-standing | Long-standing | G.O.Ms.No.69, 12 March 2025; permissions from December 2025 |
| What you ask for | HMDA layout permission (LP) number and approved plan | DTCP layout permission number and approved plan | FCDA permission number issued through BuildNow |
| Full statutory approval? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
That is the real difference between HMDA and DTCP: jurisdiction, not quality. In other words, a properly issued DTCP layout permission is a full statutory approval. It simply covers a different area.
HMDA: the metropolitan authority
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority approves layouts across the metropolitan area. Alongside the FCDA change, HMDA’s own area also grew to about 10,472 sq km across 1,355 villages in 11 districts. That matters because a village outside HMDA some years ago may sit inside it today. Meanwhile, the villages that moved to FCDA went the other way.
An HMDA layout permission comes with an LP number and a sanctioned layout plan. The plan shows plot numbers, road widths and open spaces. Ask for both, then check that your plot number appears on the plan.
DTCP: the route outside the metropolitan area
The Directorate of Town and Country Planning is the sanctioning route for layouts outside the metropolitan authority’s area. Buyers sometimes hear that a DTCP approved layout is second best. However, it is not. The same questions apply: is the permission number real, and does it belong to this layout? Also, was DTCP the competent authority for this village on the date it issued the permission?
For a layout in a peri-urban village, the date matters as much as the authority’s name. So ask for the permission copy with its date, then check it against the authority competent for that village today.
FCDA: the third authority in the south
Until March 2025, HMDA or DTCP approved layouts in the belt south of the airport. Then G.O.Ms.No.69, dated 12 March 2025, created the Future City Development Authority, covering 765.28 sq km and 56 revenue villages. Of those, 36 moved from HMDA and 20 from DTCP. FCDA began accepting layout and building applications in December 2025 through the BuildNow platform. As a result, an FCDA approval for a new layout would come with a permission number you can check, but FCDA reported no layout approvals as of 5 November 2026. So the HMDA vs DTCP question now has a third answer in the south.
Inside the FCDA area, three situations now exist side by side.
- Layouts approved before March 2025 by HMDA or DTCP. These need re-verification, because those bodies are no longer the planning authority for the villages that moved.
- Layouts approved by FCDA (applications since December 2025; none approved as of 5 November 2026), with a BuildNow permission number.
- Agricultural land with no layout permission at all, which needs a Change of Land Use order before houses go up.
Not every village in a named mandal moved to FCDA. The notification names Kandukur and Maheswaram mandals, but it lists the 56 villages individually. So check the specific village against the G.O.Ms.No.69 schedule before relying on an “FCDA” or “HMDA” label. Our Srisailam Highway guide shows where this matters along NH-765.
What an HMDA or DTCP approval does not tell you
An LP number answers one question: did the right authority sanction this layout? However, it does not answer the others.
- Ownership. Approval says nothing about the chain of title behind each survey number. Instead, that needs the link documents and an encumbrance certificate, covered in our guide to clear title documents.
- Project registration. TG-RERA registers plotted projects; it does not approve them. So check the registration separately at rera.telangana.gov.in.
- Price. The authority’s name does not set a plot’s value. Instead, location, road frontage, layout infrastructure and title history do. Our guide to South Hyderabad plot prices shows how to compare a price with registered values nearby.
- Loan eligibility. Plots in approved layouts can be eligible for plot loans, subject to your eligibility and the lender’s own policy. However, banks typically finance a smaller share of a plot’s value than a home’s. So speak to your bank before you commit to a payment schedule.
Red flags in HMDA or DTCP approval claims
- “Approval applied for.” An application is not a layout permission, whichever authority it names.
- “LRS applied.” The Layout Regularisation Scheme is the route to regularise an unapproved layout. A layout that needs LRS had no approval at the time of sale. Also, only sale deeds registered before 26 August 2020 are eligible. “LRS applied” and “LRS approved” are different positions, so ask which, in writing.
- A date that does not fit the authority. For instance, an HMDA or DTCP permission might postdate 12 March 2025 in a village that moved to FCDA. If so, raise it with the issuing authority.
- A plot number missing from the approved plan. The plan should show your plot, its dimensions and the road it faces.
- “Farm plots” with no layout permission. Telangana bars registration of farm plots below 2,000 sq m, roughly 2,392 sq.yd.
How to verify an LP number yourself
Whatever the HMDA vs DTCP answer for your village, the same four checks apply, so run them in order.
- Get the LP number, the issuing authority and the date in writing, with a copy of the approved layout plan.
- Confirm the village, and check whether it is one of the 56 FCDA villages.
- Check the number with the issuing authority. For HMDA layouts, use the approved-layout search on the metropolitan authority’s website. Similarly, for DTCP and FCDA, use their own portals or offices.
- Finally, match the TG-RERA registration. The project name, promoter and project type (plotted development or layout) should agree with the LP.
Our complete plot verification checklist adds the title, EC and site checks to these four steps.
Plan your next step
Checking a layout’s approval? If so, ask us for the LP number, issuing authority and TG-RERA registration of any plot we show. Then verify them at source yourself. Send us your question. Prefer WhatsApp? Message us on WhatsApp.
Frequently asked questions
Neither is a higher grade. HMDA approves layouts inside the Hyderabad metropolitan area, whereas DTCP approves those outside it. So check the authority’s competence for the village on the approval date, and the LP number.
DTCP stands for the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, the sanctioning route for layouts outside the metropolitan authority’s area.
For the 56 villages listed in G.O.Ms.No.69 of 12 March 2025, yes. FCDA has accepted applications through BuildNow since December 2025, with no layout approvals reported as of 5 November 2026. Not every village in those mandals moved, so check the specific village.
Plots in layouts approved by either authority can be eligible for plot loans, subject to your eligibility and the lender’s policy. However, banks typically finance a smaller share of a plot’s value than a home’s.
The layout permission number issued by the planning authority when it sanctions a layout. Ask for it in writing with the date and approved plan, then check it with the issuing authority.
Sources. G.O.Ms.No.69, MA&UD Department, 12 March 2025 · Future City Development Authority, BuildNow permissions from December 2025 · Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, approved layouts · Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Telangana · Telangana Layout Regularisation Scheme · Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG-RERA).
This article is general information, not investment or legal advice. Figures are dated and change often. Verify approvals and project registration yourself at rera.telangana.gov.in and with the issuing planning authority before any purchase.
Useful next reads. LRS and BRS rules in 2026; how LRS status affects a plot; plots in Mucherla; the ten checks before you pay; how the southern corridors compare; how to test a brochure claim; areas we cover; buyer questions answered; all our guides.
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