A village in a Regional Plan often has no residential zone drawn on it at all. That does not mean nothing residential can be built there.

The short answer. Chapter 5, Regulation 5.1.1, UDCPR as updated 30 January 2025* permits development that would be allowed in a residential zone within measured belts around settlements and municipal boundaries, for villages in Regional Plan areas where no specific residential zone is shown. The belts run from 200 m to 2 km depending on what the parcel is near and how large the settlement is, and the permission is conditional on paying a premium calculated off the Annual Statement of Rates.

The belts within which residential development may be permitted

Banded by what the belt is measured from

  1. 2.00 kmFrom the boundary of a Municipal CorporationDevelopment within the belt is guided by the road network of published or sanctioned zone plans, or an approved road network plan
  2. 1.00 kmFrom the boundary of a Municipal Council
  3. 0.50 kmFrom the boundary of a Nagar Panchayat
  4. 1,500 mFrom gaothan limits, where the settlement population exceeds 5,000 at the latest Census
  5. 500 mFrom gaothan limits, where the settlement population is 5,000 or less at the latest Census
  6. 500 mFor settlements of either size falling in planning areas or zone plans of Regional Plans, and for villages in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Raigad
  7. 200 mFor village settlements in Western Ghat hilly eco-sensitive areas in the Regional Plans of named districtsSatara, Pune, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Kolhapur, Nashik, Nandurbar, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Thane, Palghar and Raigad, or as notified by Government

Source: Chapter 5, Regulation 5.1.1, UDCPR as updated 30 January 2025

The premium, which is a real line in the pro forma

Development under this regulation is permitted only on payment of a premium on the total area of land.

Premium rate for gaothan adjacent development

Banded by status of the area

  1. 15 percentOf the land rate in the Annual Statement of Rates for the year the development is granted, applied to the total area of land
  2. 5 percentFor areas converted into Municipal Councils or Nagar Panchayats within the Regional Plan, under the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965

Source: Chapter 5, Regulation 5.1.1 provisos, UDCPR as updated 30 January 2025. Both rates are subject to Government orders from time to time

A worked example

Assumptions, because every one of them changes the answer:

  • Village in a Pune district Regional Plan area, no residential zone shown
  • Population 4,200 at the latest Census, so the 500 m gaothan belt applies
  • Not in a Western Ghat eco-sensitive area, and not converted to a Nagar Panchayat
  • Parcel of 4,000 sq m lying 380 m from the gaothan limit
  • Annual Statement of Rates land rate of Rs 3,000 per sq m for that land

The parcel is inside the 500 m belt, so residential development may be permitted. The premium is 15 percent of the ASR land rate applied to the total area of land: 4,000 sq m at Rs 3,000 per sq m is Rs 1.2 crore of notional land value, and 15 percent of that is Rs 18 lakh.

Change one input. If the same village had crossed 5,000 at the Census, the belt would be 1,500 m and a parcel much further out would qualify. If the area had since been converted into a Nagar Panchayat, the premium rate drops to 5 percent, or Rs 6 lakh on the same parcel. If the village sat in a Western Ghat eco-sensitive area of one of the named districts, the belt would shrink to 200 m and this parcel at 380 m would fall outside it entirely.

Figures in this example are illustrative.

Warning

The population figure is the one input people carry forward from memory, and it is the one that moves the belt by a factor of three. Regulation 5.1.1 keys on the latest Census, not on a current estimate or a local view of how big the village has become.

What changes this answer

  • Whether a residential zone is already shown. The regulation addresses villages where none is.
  • Whether the area is excluded. Areas of local bodies and Special Planning Authorities with a sanctioned Development Plan or planning proposal are outside this provision.
  • The road network. For the corporation, council and Nagar Panchayat belts, development is guided by the road network of published or sanctioned zone plans, or a road network plan prepared and approved by the Director of Town Planning within the stated period.
  • Government orders. Both premium rates are expressly subject to orders of the Government from time to time.
  • The ASR rate for the year. The premium is calculated off the Annual Statement of Rates for the year the development is granted, so it moves with the ready reckoner.

What this does not tell you

Whether a specific parcel is inside a belt is a survey question, measured from the gaothan or municipal boundary as recorded, not from a map estimate. And Chapter 5 as a whole prevails over the general chapters for Regional Plan parcels, which is covered in what Chapter 5 changes. If an authority refuses, the Board of Appeals is the route. For which code governs the parcel at all, start with the applicability map.

Registered projects across every Maharashtra district, including Regional Plan areas, are free to browse at reragenie.com/projects.

Source: Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Maharashtra, UDCPR as updated 30 January 2025. Sanctioned under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.

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