In the summer of 2024 a buyer in Hyderabad was shown an open plot at a tempting price, a short walk from a lake on the city's edge, with a clear boundary wall and a compound gate already in place. It looked settled and safe. Within months, machines from a new city agency were clearing structures that sat too close to lakes across Hyderabad, and buyers who had paid for plots inside a lake bed or its protected margin found they owned land they could never build on. Nothing about the plot had looked like water. The line that mattered was invisible, drawn on a map in a government office, and it decided whether the land was buildable or not.

The short answer. Before you buy an open plot near any lake, nala or river in Hyderabad, confirm the plot is outside the water body's Full Tank Level and its buffer zone, because no building is permitted inside them and structures there are liable to removal. Under the Telangana Building Rules the buffer runs 30 metres from the Full Tank Level of a large lake, less for smaller water bodies, and the level itself is fixed by the Irrigation and Revenue departments, not the seller. The trade off is stark. A lakeside plot is often cheaper and prettier, but if it sits in the FTL or buffer you may get no building permission, no loan and, in the worst case, a demolition notice.

Why has lake and buffer land become a buying risk in Hyderabad?

It became a live risk because the state set up an agency in 2024 whose job is to clear encroachments on protected land. The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency, formed on 19 July 2024, was created to protect lakes, government land and other public assets, and it has removed structures built on lake beds, in Full Tank Level areas, inside buffer zones and on government land without valid approvals. For a buyer this changes the calculation on any plot near water, because a title deed and a registered sale do not by themselves make land buildable. If the plot lies within a water body's protected extent, the registration only records who paid for it, not that the state accepts construction on it. The agency has also asked people not to buy houses, flats or land in FTL or buffer areas at all, which tells you how it treats such plots. The safe assumption near any lake is that the land is a problem until the records show otherwise.

What exactly are the FTL and the buffer zone?

The Full Tank Level is the highest level a lake or tank reaches when full, and the buffer zone is a protected strip kept clear of building around it. Under the Telangana Building Rules the area and the Full Tank Level of a lake or kunta are reckoned as measured and certified by the Irrigation Department and the Revenue Department, so the boundary is a government determination rather than anything the seller can define for you. The buffer zone is the band immediately outside the FTL in which construction is not allowed, and its width depends on the size of the water body. The catch for a buyer is that these lines are only useful once they are notified for a specific lake. HMDA has notified thousands of lakes in the Hyderabad region, but the actual FTL and buffer boundaries had been issued for only around 150 of them by late 2024, which means for many water bodies the precise line is still being fixed and a cautious buyer treats the margin as wider, not narrower.

How wide is the buffer for different water bodies?

The width is set by the type and size of the water body under the Telangana Building Rules, and it is measured from the FTL or the defined boundary. The table below sets out the buffer widths the rules prescribe, so you can see how far a plot should sit from the water it neighbours.

These are minimum protected strips, not negotiable setbacks, and they apply on top of the FTL itself, which is already off limits. A plot that sits partly inside the buffer is buildable only on the portion outside it, if any, so the usable area can be far smaller than the plot you are paying for. When a seller waves away a nearby drain as harmless, the width of that drain is exactly what decides the buffer, so it is worth measuring rather than assuming.

How do I check if a specific plot falls in the FTL or buffer?

You check it against the government's own land and water records rather than the developer's brochure. Start with the land classification of the survey number on the Telangana land records system, since land recorded as tank, shikam or government poramboke is a clear warning that the parcel is tied to a water body. Look for whether the lake or nala the plot adjoins has a notified FTL and buffer, and read the plot against that boundary rather than against the compound wall on site. Confirm that the layout or building has valid approval from HMDA or the local municipal body, because an approval is not granted for land inside the protected extent, so its absence is telling. Pull an encumbrance certificate to trace the ownership history, and check whether the survey number appears in any prohibited property list or ongoing litigation. Where the plot is close to water and the FTL is not yet notified, treat that uncertainty as a reason to wait, since a boundary fixed later can place your plot inside a line that did not officially exist on the day you bought.

What happens to a plot or structure inside the FTL or buffer?

A structure inside the FTL or the buffer has no lawful building permission and is exposed to removal. The building rules do not allow construction within these protected limits, so a plan for a house on such land cannot be sanctioned, a bank is unlikely to lend against it, and permanent utility connections are hard to obtain. The city agency has acted to clear structures that stand on lake beds, in FTL areas and inside buffers, which is the demolition risk buyers now weigh. The agency has publicly stated that residential properties built before July 2024 with valid government approvals are not its target, but that reassurance rests on the approvals actually being valid and the property sitting where the records say it does, which is precisely what a buyer must verify rather than assume. For a plot you have not yet bought, none of that history protects you, so a parcel inside the protected extent is one to walk away from rather than to price down.

What should I check before buying a plot near water?

Work through these steps before you pay any advance on a plot near a lake, nala or river.

1. Read the land classification of the survey number and reject tank, shikam or poramboke land.
2. Find out whether the neighbouring water body has a notified FTL and buffer boundary.
3. Measure the plot against that boundary, not against the wall or gate built on site.
4. Confirm the layout holds a valid HMDA or municipal approval for that exact land.
5. Identify any drain or nala beside the plot and apply the correct buffer width to it.
6. Take an encumbrance certificate and check for prohibited property tags or litigation.
7. Where the FTL is not yet notified near water, hold off rather than assume it is clear.

How does this fit the rest of my Hyderabad plot checks?

It sits at the front of your plot diligence, before layout and title even come into play, because a plot inside a water body cannot be rescued by good paperwork elsewhere. Once you are satisfied the land is clear of the FTL and buffer, the next step is confirming the layout itself is approved, which we cover in our guide to verifying an HMDA LP number, and if you are also weighing built projects, the same instinct to check the official record applies when you verify a project on RERA Telangana. Water body status, layout approval and registration are three separate gates, and a plot has to clear all of them. The lake buffer check is simply the one that is easiest to overlook and hardest to undo, because you cannot move a plot away from the water it was sold beside.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know the buffer zone width for a plot in Hyderabad? The width depends on the water body under the Telangana Building Rules. It is 30 metres from the Full Tank Level for a lake of 10 hectares or more, 9 metres for a smaller lake, 9 or 2 metres for a nala by its width, and 50 metres from a river. Measure from the notified boundary.

Who decides the Full Tank Level of a lake? The Irrigation Department and the Revenue Department fix and certify the area and Full Tank Level of a lake or kunta under the building rules, so it is a government determination. HMDA notifies FTL and buffer boundaries lake by lake, and only a fraction had notified boundaries by late 2024.

Can I build if my plot is inside the FTL or buffer zone? No. Construction is not permitted inside the Full Tank Level or the buffer zone, so a building plan for such land cannot be sanctioned, a loan is unlikely, and the structure is exposed to removal. If only part of the plot lies inside the buffer, you may build only on the portion outside it.

Is a registered sale deed enough to prove a lakeside plot is safe? No. A registered sale deed records who paid for the land, not that the land is buildable. A plot inside a water body's protected extent can be registered yet still carry no building permission and a demolition risk. Verify the land classification, the notified FTL and buffer, and the layout approval separately before you rely on the registration.

Last updated 2026-08-31. PropNewz Team.