Andhra Pradesh enacts new land-use rules to streamline urban development
The Andhra Pradesh government has notified the Common Zoning Regulations, 2026, introducing a uniform framework for regulating land use and urban development across the state.
The new regulations replace earlier rules issued in 2025 and will apply to Master Plans, Zonal Development Plans and General Town Planning Schemes, except in the capital city area.
According to the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department, the regulations aim to support planned urban expansion while balancing economic growth with public safety, environmental protection and long-term development needs.
The framework replaces multiple legacy zoning systems with nine standard land-use categories and adopts a negative-list approach, meaning activities are allowed unless explicitly prohibited for a particular zone.
The nine categories are: residential, commercial, public and semi-public, recreational, industrial, transportation, mixed use, agricultural and development-restricted zones. The restricted category includes heritage and defence areas, water bodies, forests, hills, eco-sensitive zones and coastal regulation areas.
Under the negative-list principle, all development remains subject to building rules, layout rules, environmental regulations, road-width requirements, parking standards, safety distances and infrastructure conditions.
Activities that could cause pollution, congestion, safety hazards or conflict with a zone's character—such as polluting industries, hazardous storage, slaughterhouses, large logistics, heavy infrastructure, mining and waste disposal—will remain prohibited in residential areas.
Recreational areas, parks, open spaces, water bodies, forests, hill zones, heritage areas and environmentally sensitive locations will continue to be protected from incompatible development.
Specified non-residential activities may be permitted on sites of at least 300 square metres abutting roads of 60 feet width or more, subject to payment of applicable impact fees and land-use charges. This provision does not apply to parks, open spaces, recreational zones, hill areas, protected zones, public utilities and other sensitive uses.
The framework also regulates development in agricultural zones. White and Green category industries may be allowed subject to Pollution Control Board conditions and prescribed buffers. Farmhouses may be permitted on agricultural plots of at least 0.50 acre, with ground coverage not exceeding 10% and building height limited to G+1 floors and 11 metres.
Officials said requirements related to road widths, parking, setbacks, industrial buffers, pollution-safety distances, highways and buffers around rivers, canals, drains, streams and tanks will continue under the Andhra Pradesh Building Rules, 2017. Industrial classifications by pollution control boards remain applicable.
