Lake FTL and buffer zone check before buying a plot or flat in Hyderabad (HMDA Lakes portal, HYDRAA, GO 168)

Checked against official sources on 19 Oct 2026 · Not legal advice · Government websites change, so re-check before you rely on a step.

Short answer: Before you pay for a plot, villa or flat near a cheruvu, kunta or nala in Hyderabad or the wider HMDA area, check two things: is the land inside the lake's Full Tank Level (FTL), and is it inside the buffer zone around it? HYDRAA's FAQ page lists the buffer limits as 30 m for lakes of 10 hectares and above, 9 m for lakes under 10 hectares, 9 m for drains wider than 10 m and 2 m for drains up to 10 m wide. HMDA's Lakes portal lists notified lakes by district, mandal and village, with FTL and cadastral maps. This page shows what those official pages said when we read them on 19 Oct 2026.

Step by step: check a lake on the HMDA Lakes portal

Open lakes.hmda.gov.in. Pick the District (the list shows Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Rangareddy, Sangareddy, Medak, Siddipet and Yadadri-Bhongiri), then Mandal/Circle and Village. You can also search by Lake ID or lake name.
Choose All, Preliminary Notification or Final Notification. Each row shows the Lake ID, the date of preliminary notification and, once issued, the date of final notification.
Open FTL for the lake's FTL map and CADASTRAL for the map with survey numbers around the lake.
Where the lake has a final notification, the row also has a link headed "Synos & Area Effecting in FTL & BufferZone" (survey numbers and areas affected). In the rows we read on 19 Oct 2026, that link appeared only on lakes with a final notification date.
Match the survey number in the seller's documents (sale deed, encumbrance certificate, Bhu Bharati record) against the survey numbers on the map and in that list.

Example from our 19 Oct read: Rangareddy district, Nandigama mandal, Edulapally village, Nalla Cheruvu (Lake ID 209): preliminary notification 14-10-2016, final notification 07-03-2025. In the same village, Edulacheruvu (Lake ID 214) showed only a preliminary notification dated 14-10-2016. A lake with only a preliminary notification is still listed, so don't treat "no final date" as "no lake".

What the rule says (G.O.Ms.No.168 of 2012)

HYDRAA's FAQ points to "Restrictions Near Water Bodies (GO 168)". Rule 3(a) of those Building Rules, as reproduced in a document on the National Green Tribunal website, says:

No building or development in the bed of a river or nala, or in the FTL of any lake, pond, cheruvu or kunta / shikam lands. The area and FTL are taken as measured and confirmed in writing by the Irrigation Department and the Revenue Department.
Buffer zones (kept as recreational or green buffer, no building): 100 m from a river boundary outside municipal limits and 50 m inside them; 30 m from the FTL of lakes, tanks or kuntas of 10 hectares and above; 9 m for those under 10 hectares and for shikam lands; 9 m from a canal, vagu, nala or storm water drain wider than 10 m; 2 m from one up to 10 m wide.
Unless the Master Plan or Zonal Development Plan says otherwise, the buffer may carry a road of at least 12 m, and it is counted as open space, not as your setback.
The same rule refers to the separate G.O.111 catchment restrictions for Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar. Their current status for your village is something to confirm with HMDA (to verify).

We could not download that NGT copy from our server on 19 Oct 2026, so the wording above is from the copy as indexed. Check it against the G.O. itself before you rely on a number (to verify).

Patta land and shikam land

HYDRAA's FAQ has questions on "Can FTL Areas Contain Private Land?", "What is Shikam Land?", "What is Patta Land?", "Who Fixes FTL Boundaries?" and "Is Irrigation Department NOC Mandatory?". Their answers were collapsed when we read the page, so open them on the FAQ page yourself. The rule above is plain on one point: a patta in the seller's name does not by itself make land inside the FTL or buffer buildable, because Rule 3(a) bars building there.

Green / Amber / Red

Green: no notified lake, kunta or nala on the HMDA Lakes portal in the village, or the survey number is clearly outside both the FTL and buffer lines on the maps; the building permission (see our building permission and OC check) or layout approval (our layout and LRS check) matches the site.
Amber: the survey number sits next to a lake, the project is sold as "lake view", the lake has only a preliminary notification, or the map is hard to read. Ask the seller for the permission plan showing the buffer, and ask a surveyor or lawyer to plot the site against the FTL map.
Red: the survey number appears in the "Synos & Area Effecting in FTL & BufferZone" list, the plot is inside the blue FTL line, or the land is recorded as shikam or tank land. Don't pay an advance. Also run our prohibited property check.

What to keep on file

Screenshot of the HMDA Lakes row for every lake in the village, with the date you checked
The FTL map and cadastral map with the plot marked
Survey number, sub-division and extent from the sale deed and land record
Building permission or layout approval copy, and any Irrigation or Revenue NOC the seller says they have
Your questions to the seller in writing, and their answers

HYDRAA lists a toll-free helpline, 1070, for water encroachment complaints and map queries, and its office at 7th Floor, Buddha Bhavan, Rani Gunj, Secunderabad. Want the full buying order in one list? Use our free property buying checklist generator. Property in Vizag, Vijayawada or Guntur? See our Andhra Pradesh lake and tank buffer check.

Free NRI Hyderabad property checklist sample

A free sample from our Hyderabad property do-it-yourself pack for NRIs: which papers to ask the seller or builder for, which official portals to check, and in what order.

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FAQ

How do I check if a plot in Hyderabad is in a lake FTL or buffer zone?

Open HMDA's Lakes portal (lakes.hmda.gov.in), pick the district, mandal and village, open the lake's FTL and cadastral maps, and match the seller's survey number. For finally notified lakes, the row also links to the survey numbers and areas affected in the FTL and buffer zone.

What is the buffer zone around a lake in Hyderabad?

HYDRAA's FAQ lists 30 m for lakes of 10 hectares and above, 9 m for lakes under 10 hectares, 9 m for drains wider than 10 m and 2 m for drains up to 10 m wide, measured from the FTL or drain boundary.

Can I build on patta land inside a lake's FTL?

Rule 3(a) of G.O.Ms.No.168 bars building or development inside the FTL of any lake, pond, cheruvu or kunta and on shikam lands, and in the buffer. A patta alone does not change that. Ask a lawyer about your case. Not legal advice.

Who decides a lake's FTL?

Under Rule 3(a) of G.O.Ms.No.168, the area and FTL are taken as measured and confirmed in writing by the Irrigation Department and Revenue Department. HMDA's Lakes portal shows preliminary and final notification dates for each lake.

A lake shows only a preliminary notification. Is the plot safe?

Not necessarily. The lake is still listed and mapped. Treat it as Amber: check the FTL map, ask for the permission plan and have the site plotted before paying.

Where can I complain about a lake encroachment in Hyderabad?

HYDRAA lists a toll-free helpline, 1070, for water encroachment complaints and map queries. Its office is at Buddha Bhavan, Rani Gunj, Secunderabad.

Official sources

Not legal advice. We don't check properties or certify ads. A lawyer must confirm title, and the Authority's own notices override anything on this page.