Development Authorities in North India: Who Approves What

Four Layers of Approval

It helps to separate four functions, because different offices own each of them and the same land can pass one and fail another.

• Land record and conversion (revenue). Records ownership and classification and, in most states, decides revenue-side conversion. Offices include the Tehsildar, the Sub-Divisional Officer and the District Collector. See change of land use in India.
• Planning and zoning (town planning). Prepares the master plan, designates zones and, in controlled areas, may grant change of land use. The detail is in land use zones.
• Development and building control (development authority). Grants development permission and building plan approval, enforces against unauthorised development, and in some areas allots land.
• Project and transaction regulators. The state real estate regulator registers projects, and the sub-registrar registers deeds. Whether a farm-land project is within the regulator's reach is discussed in RERA and the farmland exemption, and deed registration in the Registration Act, 1908.

Uttar Pradesh

Two statutes matter most. The Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 allows the State to constitute development authorities for notified areas. Under it, an authority prepares a master plan (Section 8) and zonal plans (Section 9), and no development may be undertaken without written permission (Section 14); the Vice-Chairman, in the language of the Act, grants or refuses it on application (Section 15). Authorities such as the Meerut Development Authority publish the Act and plans on their websites. The Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976 is the basis for industrial development authorities. The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority describes itself as constituted under that Act by a notification of 24 April 2001, with responsibilities that include preparing a master plan for the industrial development area, building infrastructure and acquiring land for the expressway and area development. Noida and Greater Noida are also run by industrial development authorities; confirm the constituting notification and current boundaries with each authority.

For a buyer, the consequence is that the same Uttar Pradesh district can contain land under an ordinary development authority, land under an industrial development authority, and land under neither, and each has its own rules. The revenue-side step for conversion is covered in land use conversion in Uttar Pradesh.

Haryana

Haryana's town planning is led by the Department of Town and Country Planning, headed by the Director of Town and Country Planning. Published summaries describe it as the nodal agency for CLU in controlled areas, with the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963 and the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975 as the principal laws. It declares controlled areas around towns and prepares their development plans, and licensed colonies are regulated under the 1975 Act. Alongside it are urban development bodies, for example the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran and metropolitan development authorities such as the one for Gurugram, whose enforcement wing issued a 2025 order on sites with rejected CLU. Check each body's statute and current role directly.

The CLU route and fees are in CLU in Haryana: process and fees.

Rajasthan

Urban Improvement Trusts operate under the Rajasthan Urban Improvement Act, 1959, which lets the State establish trusts and direct the preparation of master plans defining zones. Larger cities are served by development authorities created by their own statutes; the Jaipur Development Authority operates under the Jaipur Development Authority Act, 1982, and a Bharatpur Development Authority Act was passed in 2025. In rural areas, the revenue machinery handles conversion under Section 90A of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, as explained in land conversion in Rajasthan under Section 90A. The industrial development corporation also allots land in its notified industrial areas; we have not verified its current rules here.

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab

Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, as adapted, establishes the Uttarakhand Housing and Urban Development Authority as the State Authority and permits Local Development Authorities for specific development areas (Section 4). The State Authority prepares or approves master and zonal plans (Section 7-A), and Sections 14 and 15 require written permission for development. Local authorities for particular towns operate under it; check the current notification for your town.

Himachal Pradesh. The Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977 allows the State Government to constitute planning areas (Section 13), requires the development plan to allocate land to uses such as residential, industrial, commercial and agricultural (Section 18), and bars change of use or development without written permission of the Director (Section 27). Penalties for unauthorised development are in Section 38, and the amounts may have been amended since the text we reviewed. Land purchase by non-agriculturists is separately governed by Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, which is explained in Himachal Section 118 explained.

Punjab. Punjab's planning and housing development bodies, such as PUDA and its regional authorities including GMADA, operate under the state's regional and town planning legislation. The Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995 governs colonies and CLU for developers, and a December 2025 amendment, as reported, tightened requirements. Confirm the current statute and amendments with the department.

Delhi and the NCR. The Delhi Development Authority prepares the master plan for Delhi, and the National Capital Region Planning Board, constituted under the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985, prepares the Regional Plan that sets the framework for the NCR districts in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

How to Find the Authority for a Village

1. Start with the village, tehsil and district as written in the khatauni or jamabandi.
2. Ask the planning office. The District Town Planner, the local development authority or the Director's office can confirm in writing whether the village lies inside a notified area, a controlled area, an industrial development area or none.
3. Search the notifications. The authority's website usually lists notified villages, master plans and public notices.
4. Check the plan. Locate the khasra using the steps in how to read a master plan.
5. Check the overlays. A single parcel may also fall in an eco-sensitive or forest-linked area. See eco-sensitive zones and land purchase.
6. Keep it in writing. Save the letter, notification number and date for your lawyer.

Using This as a Buyer

Match the seller's promise to the office that can make it. A claim about conversion belongs to the revenue office. A claim about permitted use belongs to the planning body. A claim that a project is approved belongs to the regulator, and a claim about building permission belongs to the authority. Where a claim does not match any office, ask which one it refers to. The wider checklist is in the land due diligence checklist. For corridor projects with their own authorities, see the Jewar airport land guide.

Frequently Asked Questions