GO 111
6 min read
It looks like a great deal. Open land, decent price, good location on paper. Nothing obviously wrong. Then someone checks the Master Plan. Conservation Zone. GO 111 applies. Everything you planned to do with that land - build, develop, sell to someone who wants to build, is legally off the table. And it has been since 1996. This isn't a new risk. It's a decades-old government order that still catches buyers completely off guard because nobody in the sales process volunteers the information.
What is GO 111?
Government Order 111 was issued in 1996 to protect the catchment areas of Hyderabad's two major reservoirs - Osmansagar and Himayatsagar. These two lakes supply drinking water to a significant portion of the city. The GO drew a buffer zone around them and prohibited construction and development activity within it.
The restriction covers approximately 84 villages across six mandals:
Moinabad, Shamshabad, Rajendranagar, Chevella, Shabad, and Shankarpally.
Within these areas, no residential layouts, no commercial construction, no industrial development. Land can exist, be owned, even be registered and sold. But it cannot be legally developed. HMDA will not issue approvals. Municipalities will not issue building permissions. Banks will not finance construction.
HYDRAA - the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency has been actively demolishing unauthorized constructions in these zones. These aren't warnings. They're physical demolitions of structures that were built ignoring GO 111, sometimes after years of occupation.
Why Buyers Still Get Caught
The land looks normal. The registration goes through normally. The EC may come back clean. Nothing in the transaction process automatically flags a GO 111 restriction.
The only place this shows up clearly is the HMDA Master Plan zone classification, specifically the Dark Green Conservation Zone overlay. If a buyer doesn't check the Master Plan, they have no way of knowing until they apply for a building permission and get rejected or worse, until HYDRAA shows up.
How to Check If Your Plot Is in a Safe Zone
Use all three methods below. Cross-verify before making any decision.
Method 1: HMDA GIS Portal - Zone Check
Go to gis.hmda.gov.in
Select "Master Plan 2031" from the map layers
Enable the "Land Use Zone" overlay
Use Search by Survey Number - enter District, Mandal, Village, Survey Number
Map zooms to your plot
If the zone highlights in Dark Green - Conservation Zone, GO 111 likely applies
If Yellow - Residential, safe for development
If Light Green - Peri-Urban, restricted but not prohibited
Method 2: HMDA Lakes and Buffer Zone Portal
Go to lakes.hmda.gov.in
This portal specifically maps water body boundaries and buffer zones across the metropolitan region
Search your survey number or manually navigate to your plot location
Check whether your survey number falls within any Full Tank Level (FTL) boundary or Buffer Zone marked around Osmansagar or Himayatsagar
Any overlap - even partial with an FTL or buffer zone is a hard stop
Method 3: HYDRAA Jurisdiction Check
Go to hydraa.telangana.gov.in
Check the "Protected Areas" or "Jurisdiction Map" section
HYDRAA's active enforcement zones are mapped here
If your survey number falls within an active HYDRAA jurisdiction area, verify zone classification before proceeding under any circumstances
Method 4: Physical Verification at HMDA Office
For any plot in the six mandals listed above - Moinabad, Shamshabad, Rajendranagar, Chevella, Shabad, Shankarpally do not rely on portal results alone:
Visit HMDA Town Planning Section, Izzathnagar, Hyderabad
Request a Zone Confirmation Letter for your specific survey number
Ask specifically whether GO 111 restrictions apply to that survey number
This written confirmation is the only document that gives you legal certainty — portal screenshots are reference material, not official clearance
The GO 111 Safe Zone Checklist
Before finalizing any plot purchase in or near the six mandals:
[ ] Survey number checked on HMDA GIS portal zone confirmed as Yellow (Residential) or compatible, not Dark Green (Conservation)
[ ] lakes.hmda.gov.in checked - no FTL or buffer zone overlap with your survey number
[ ] Plot location is outside the catchment boundary of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar reservoirs
[ ] Village name is not among the 84 restricted villages - cross-reference with HMDA's published GO 111 village list
[ ] HYDRAA jurisdiction map checked - no active enforcement zone overlap
[ ] Physical Zone Confirmation Letter obtained from HMDA Town Planning for high-value purchases
[ ] No demolition notices or HYDRAA action history on that survey number or surrounding plots - check by visiting the local MRO office and asking directly
The GO 111 Village List — Six Mandals to Verify Carefully
If your plot falls in any of these mandals, treat verification as mandatory before anything else:
Moinabad - Largest concentration of GO 111 restricted land. Significant portions of multiple villages fall within the catchment zone.
Shankarpally - Popular with farm plot buyers due to scenic location. Heavy GO 111 overlap in several villages.
Chevella - Outer boundary areas have mixed zones. Some villages are clear, others are not. Survey number level check is essential - mandal-level generalizations don't work here.
Rajendranagar - Closer to city limits but still has pockets of Conservation Zone land, particularly toward the reservoir side.
Shamshabad - Airport proximity drives demand. GO 111 applies to specific villages on the western side toward the reservoirs.
Shabad - Less developed, lower prices - partly because significant portions carry GO 111 restrictions.
For the complete village-by-village list, request the official GO 111 village schedule from the HMDA Town Planning office or download it from hmda.gov.in under the Master Plan documents section.
What About the GO 111 Relaxation Discussions?
There have been periodic government discussions about partially relaxing GO 111 restrictions, particularly for low-density development. As of now, the GO remains in force. No formal relaxation order has been issued that changes the legal status of these lands for construction purposes.
Buying land betting on a future GO relaxation is speculation, not investment. Price it accordingly if that's your thesis and don't build anything on it until a formal order is in hand.
GO 111 land can be bought and sold. It cannot be legally developed. That distinction makes all the difference between an asset and a liability sitting on your balance sheet.
Check the zone before you check the price. Five minutes on the HMDA GIS portal and the lakes portal tells you everything you need to know before a single rupee changes hands.
If the plot is in one of the six mandals get the physical Zone Confirmation Letter from HMDA. Don't rely on portal screenshots for a decision of this size.
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