The Revanth Reddy government is moving ahead with a wider overhaul of Hyderabad’s urban administration and drainage systems, but the latest verified measures do not amount to a new cap on Floor Space Index. The Telangana Assembly passed the Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Bill, 2026, on September 12, bringing Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri under a coordinated framework for planning and civic services. The legislation provides for dedicated disaster-management and traffic-management authorities, digital coordination between agencies and integrated handling of services including water, sewerage and sanitation.
The move fits into Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s longer-term plan for Hyderabad. After severe waterlogging in 2025, he directed officials to prepare a master plan looking as far as 100 years ahead for drinking water, stormwater, drainage and traffic. The government said the exercise should redesign infrastructure around heavier rainfall, improve stormwater movement towards the Musi and restore the links between lakes, ponds, drains and the river.
The drainage programme also includes the proposed Comprehensive Sewerage Master Plan. The state prepared a detailed project report covering Hyderabad and 27 surrounding municipalities, with new sewer networks and wastewater infrastructure intended to reduce untreated discharge and support full sewage treatment across the wider urban region.
FSI question remains separate from drainage plan
Hyderabad’s high-density development model has renewed debate over whether infrastructure is keeping pace with construction. Recent government land auctions in Raidurg explicitly offered unlimited FSI, and developers have publicly raised questions over the sustainability of land prices and building density under the present system.
The state did amend the Telangana Building Rules in March 2026, but the changes did not introduce a general FSI ceiling. G.O. Ms. No. 95 revised Transferable Development Rights rules, permitted limited setback relaxations and created provisions for additional floors on qualifying large plots. High-rise projects between the 10th and 20th floors must load TDR equivalent to 3% of the applicable area above the 10th floor, while floors above the 20th attract a 5% TDR requirement. BuildNow Telangana
That distinction is important because the government’s verified drainage strategy focuses on infrastructure capacity, water bodies, nalas, sewerage and integrated governance. The latest official building-rule changes regulate development through TDR and other parameters, but they do not establish the broad FSI cap suggested by some public discussion around Hyderabad’s high-rise growth. The Times of India
Revanth Reddy has also linked repeated flooding to encroachments on lakes and nalas and has backed restoration work through HYDRAA and the Musi programme. In June, after another spell of rain caused flooding and traffic disruption, he said encroachments and poorly planned construction had damaged natural drainage channels and directed the administration to pursue longer-term corrective measures.
Data and statistics
The government’s 100-year urban planning directive followed an episode in which parts of Hyderabad recorded up to 15 centimetres of rain in one night. Officials said existing roads and drains were struggling even around the 5-centimetre level, while extreme events could reach about 20 centimetres. The same plan identifies approximately 55 kilometres of the Musi through Hyderabad as a major component of the city’s flood-management network.
The Comprehensive Sewerage Master Plan DPR covers about 7,444 kilometres of sewerage infrastructure across Hyderabad and 27 surrounding municipalities at an estimated cost of ₹17,212.69 crore. A separate proposal of about ₹4,000 crore covers trunk sewers, large box drains and additional sewage-treatment infrastructure connected to the Musi system.
The newly created Core Urban Region has a population of nearly 1.30 crore, more than 12 times the population for which Hyderabad’s earlier municipal law was framed. The government argues that this expansion requires common planning, disaster response and infrastructure management across the three municipal corporations rather than separate systems working independently.
The pressure from high-value, high-density development is visible in recent land transactions. A 5.38-acre Raidurg parcel with unlimited FSI fetched ₹269 crore per acre in an August 2026 government auction, with the successful bid totalling ₹1,447.22 crore. Two adjoining auctions covering 10.63 acres generated ₹2,833.22 crore, illustrating the commercial value attached to development intensity in Hyderabad’s western corridor.