Authorities & RERA
What is a Development Authority?
The body that decides what may be built. And the reason a project just outside the city limits may be governed by an entirely different authority — with entirely different rules.
The short answer
A development authority is the statutory body that plans a city's growth. It writes the master plan, approves layouts, sanctions building plans, and builds infrastructure.
Which authority governs your plot determines which approvals it actually needs — and on the fringes of Indian cities, that question has more than one plausible answer, which is exactly where problems begin.
The authorities
| City / Region | Authority |
|---|---|
| Bengaluru | BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) · BBMP (the municipal corporation) · BMRDA for the wider region |
| Delhi | DDA (Delhi Development Authority) · MCD |
| Hyderabad | HMDA (Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority) · GHMC |
| Mumbai region | MMRDA · BMC (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) |
| Chennai | CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) · GCC |
| Pune | PMRDA · PMC |
| Tamil Nadu (outside Chennai) | DTCP (Directorate of Town and Country Planning) |
| Gurugram / Haryana | HSVP (formerly HUDA) · DTCP Haryana · GMDA |
| Noida / Greater Noida | Noida Authority · Greater Noida Authority · YEIDA |
| Kolkata | KMDA · KMC |
Note that most cities have BOTH a development authority (planning, layouts, the master plan) and a municipal corporation (buildings, services, property tax). They are different bodies with different powers, and a project may need approvals from both.
What a development authority does
- Prepares the master plan — the city's twenty-year blueprint
- Approves layouts — the subdivision of land into plots, roads and parks
- Sanctions building plans — in its jurisdiction
- Issues commencement and occupancy certificates
- Develops its own layouts and housing schemes — and sells sites
- Acquires land for public purposes
- Grants TDR and administers premium FSI
- Enforces against unauthorised construction — in theory
Which authority governs YOUR plot? This is the important question.
Inside the city limits, it is usually clear: the municipal corporation, and the development authority.
On the outskirts — where most new projects are — it can be genuinely murky.
Is the plot in the municipal corporation? In the development authority's planning area? In a panchayat? In a gram thana? In the metropolitan region but outside the corporation?
Each has different rules, different approvals, and different competence.
And a layout approved by a panchayat — which frequently had no authority to approve it — is not an approved layout. That is a very large category of Indian property, and the people who bought into it did not know to ask.
“Which authority approved this layout and this building plan — and did they have jurisdiction to do so?”
Then verify it with that authority.
An approval from a body without jurisdiction is not an approval. It is a piece of paper.
What to check
- Which authority's jurisdiction is the plot in? Ask. Then check the authority's own jurisdiction map.
- Who approved the layout? Verify with that authority.
- Who sanctioned the building plan? Verify.
- Who will issue the occupancy certificate? The same body, usually.
- Is the project inside or outside the municipal limits? It affects your property tax, your services, and your khata.
- Does the RERA filing name the approving authority? It should.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is a central law. But it is administered by a separate authority in each state, each with its own portal, its own rules, its own forms, and its own fee schedule.
Which means: the principles below apply everywhere. The procedure does not.
Always check YOUR state's RERA portal for the current rules, forms and fees. Search for it by name — MahaRERA, K-RERA, TS-RERA, TNRERA, UP RERA, HARERA — rather than following a link a builder or a broker sends you.
Frequently asked questions
What is a development authority?
A statutory body responsible for the planned development of a city or region — it prepares the master plan, approves layouts, sanctions building plans, issues commencement and occupancy certificates, and develops infrastructure. BDA in Bengaluru, DDA in Delhi, HMDA in Hyderabad, MMRDA for the Mumbai region, CMDA in Chennai, DTCP in Tamil Nadu and Haryana.
What is the difference between a development authority and a municipal corporation?
The development authority handles planning — the master plan, layouts, and often building plans. The municipal corporation handles services, buildings and property tax. Most cities have both, they are different bodies with different powers, and a project may need approvals from both.
Which authority approved my project?
Ask, and then verify with that authority — because on the outskirts of Indian cities this question is genuinely murky. Is the plot in the municipal corporation, the development authority's planning area, a panchayat, or the metropolitan region outside the corporation? Each has different rules. And a layout approved by a panchayat that had no jurisdiction to approve it is not an approved layout.
Does it matter if a project is outside municipal limits?
Yes. It affects which authority's approvals are needed, your property tax, your civic services, and — in Bengaluru — whether you get an A khata or a B khata. Check which jurisdiction the plot actually falls in, on the authority's own map, rather than taking the builder's word for it.