Telangana Govt. Preparing 80 Master Plans for UDAs & ULBs for 2041
The Telangana Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD) department has
already started work on preparation of around 80 master plans for the state’s Urban Development
Authorities (UDAs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for 2041. The state government has
decided to shift its focus on Tier-II cities to increase the pace of development in smaller cities,
towns and villages. The government is also focussing on the development of ULBs with a
population of more than 1 lakh & municipalities that lie around Hyderabad Metropolitan Region
(HMR).
The master plans being drawn for 2041 will include provisions for Outer Ring Roads (ORRs),
mixed land use & link roads. According to govt. officials, so many new master plans are
necessary as the state govt. created 70+ new municipalities since the formation of Telangana
state. Many master plans, like the ones for Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Ramagundam & Peddapalli
were created 20 years ago and need a revised master plan to accommodate for the changes.
Nizamabad & Karimnagar now have their own UDAs, the state govt. created UDAs for cities in
the state apart from the addition of new municipalities. Other UDAs include Siddipet,
Khammam, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Yadadri Temple Development Authority (YTDA) &
Vemulavada Temple Development Authority (VTDA).
The Directorate of Town & Country Planning (DTCP) is also assisting on the creation of the
master plans as it is also a part of MA&UD department. Govt. officials say that nearly 35 master
plans have been completed and are awaiting clearance from the state govt. GIS-based master
plans have already been drawn for Nizamabad, Khammam, Siddipet & Karimnagar UDAs and
for Adilabad, Suryapet, Nalgonda, Ramagundam, Mahbubnagar & Miryalaguda municipalities.
Yadadri Temple Development Authority (YTDA) has also been completed & submitted to the
state govt. a few months ago, while the Vemulawada master plan is currently being drafted.
The verification of the submitted master plans is being carried out by municipal authorities.
DTCP Director K. Vidyadhar said “We expect to see rapid growth in towns and urban areas in
the next 5-10 years. All the major UDAs and municipalities will also have ORRs keeping the
future needs and growth in mind. Earlier, there was no mixed land use where the land can be
used for any purpose such as residential, commercial and recreational purposes, especially half a
km abutting the proposed ORRs.” All master plans made till date, including HMDA/HMR
Master Plan 2031 have had agricultural land use areas. As agriculture land use is not required in
urban master plans, these lands will be classified as ‘urbanisable use’ – which means it can be
converted to serve other purposes.
Telangana’s Minister for MA&UD, K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), has sought authorities to provide
proper sewerage networks & lung spaces apart from the social infrastructure provision. Some
master plans are designed to have walk-to-work provisions & township plans in regions where IT
buildings have cropped up in towns like Khammam, Nizamabad & Karimnagar. KTR recently
said that Telangana would have 50% of its population living in urban areas by 2025, during the
launch of MA&UD department’s annual report.
