In Hyderabad, building facade and elevation approval is granted by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) as an integral part of the building permit - not as a separate permission. The elevation drawing showing your glazing, cladding, projections and overall height is sanctioned together with the plan under the Telangana Building Rules, 2012, which means the exterior appearance of the structure is legally fixed at permit stage. Any glass curtain wall, ACP panel or structural glass facade you build later must match that sanctioned elevation and comply with the National Building Code of India (NBC) 2016.
Every application is now processed digitally through TG-bPASS - the Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self Certification System - which is wired into GHMC's Development Permission Management System (DPMS). Owners upload architectural, structural and elevation drawings certified by a registered architect and a Licensed Technical Person (LTP). For medium and high-rise buildings, the file runs through a single-window mechanism that consolidates fire, environment and airport-height clearances into one track. Knowing which category your project falls into decides your timeline, your fees and the exact facade documentation GHMC will scrutinise.
This guide breaks down the entire process for owners, builders and facade contractors across Hyderabad, Secunderabad and the wider Telangana and Andhra Pradesh region - the approval tracks, the mandatory drawings, the IS and NBC standards, the NOCs, realistic INR costs and the mistakes that get elevations rejected. Whether you are planning a commercial glass front in Gachibowli, a residential elevation in Kompally or a full curtain wall in the Financial District, you can also get a free quote for compliant design and execution.
How GHMC Regulates Building Facades and Elevations
A building facade in Hyderabad is not a cosmetic afterthought - it is a regulated element of the sanctioned building. GHMC controls the elevation to enforce setbacks, height limits, fire safety and the overall streetscape, and it does so through a single permit that bundles the plan, section and elevation together into one scrutiny set.
Once approved, the elevation drawing becomes the legal reference against which town-planning inspectors measure the finished building. If the glass line, cantilevered balconies or ACP cladding project beyond what was sanctioned, the deviation is recorded and can attract penalties, unauthorised-construction notices or even demolition. In practice this is why the facade should be designed at permit stage, not decided on site after the frame is up.
- The governing law is the Telangana Building Rules, 2012 (GO Ms No. 168), as amended, administered through TG-bPASS.
- The facade must respect mandatory front, rear and side setbacks, which increase with plot size and building height.
- Commercial and high-rise elevations carry stricter fire-safety and glazing conditions than low-rise residential facades.
- Any later change to a sanctioned elevation - including retro-fitting a glass front or a spider-glazed entrance - technically requires a revised sanction.
Which TG-bPASS Approval Category Applies to Your Building
TG-bPASS classifies buildings into tracks that decide how the facade and elevation are approved. Identifying your track first is the single most important step, because it dictates cost, timeline and the level of scrutiny your drawings face.
- Instant Registration / Approval: residential plots up to 75 sq. m with height up to 7 m (G+1) are self-certified online with negligible scrutiny and near-zero permit fee.
- Instant Approval (self-certification): plots above 75 sq. m and up to 600 sq. m with height up to 10 m receive approval on submission by a Licensed Technical Person, subject to random field inspection of roughly 10% of cases.
- Single-Window Approval: plots above 600 sq. m, or buildings above 10 m, go through committee scrutiny and multi-agency NOCs, typically cleared within about 21 working days.
High-rise buildings above 15 m (generally G+4 and taller) always fall in the single-window track and need fire and AAI height clearances before facade execution. For most commercial glass facades in areas like Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, HITEC City, Gachibowli and the Secunderabad Cantonment fringe, the single-window track is the norm. Misjudging your category - for example assuming a self-certified track for a building that actually crosses the height threshold - is one of the fastest routes to a stop-work notice.
Elevation and Facade Drawings You Must Submit
The elevation (facade) drawing is a mandatory scrutiny sheet within the DPMS building-permit set and must be signed by a registered architect and a licensed structural engineer. Incomplete or inconsistent elevation drawings are the single most common reason a file is returned for compliance, so precision here saves weeks.
- Front, rear and side elevations to scale (typically 1:100) showing overall height, floor-to-floor levels, sill heights and parapet.
- Material specification of the facade: glazing type and thickness, aluminium framing system, ACP cladding, stone or plaster finish.
- Sections through the external wall showing glazing depth, fixing detail and fire stops at each floor slab.
- Structural glazing / curtain wall design calculations for wind and dead load wherever a glass facade is proposed.
- A compliance note referencing NBC 2016, IS 875 (Part 3) wind loads and the applicable fire-safety provisions.
For glass-heavy elevations it pays to finalise the hardware and glass thickness early, because the anchor points and dead loads feed directly into the structural calculations submitted to GHMC. Reviewing our recent projects is a useful way to see how a compliant elevation translates into a buildable detail before your drawings are locked. Getting these decisions right up front avoids re-drawing the section detail later and re-submitting the file.
Standards Governing Glass and Aluminium Facades in Hyderabad
A compliant facade in Hyderabad must satisfy the structural, safety and energy standards named in NBC 2016 and the Bureau of Indian Standards codes. These are not optional guidelines - the structural stability certificate submitted to GHMC certifies compliance with them, and the facade contractor is held to them on site.
- Wind load: IS 875 (Part 3) - Hyderabad falls in a basic wind-speed zone of 44 m/s, which sets the design pressure for tall glass elevations and curtain walls.
- Safety glass: IS 2553 (Part 1) for toughened and laminated glass; toughened panes are typically 8-12 mm and roughly 4-5 times stronger than annealed glass.
- Structural silicone sealant: performance tested to ASTM C1401 for structural glazing joints, with proven weather and structural seal life.
- Energy: the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) and BEE-rated glass limit heat gain, with double-glazed or low-E units reaching U-values around 1.6-2.8 W/m2K - well suited to Hyderabad's hot, dry climate and high solar load.
- Aluminium framing generally uses 6063-T5/T6 extrusions with a design service life of 40-50 years and a consistent powder-coat or anodised finish.
The correct architectural glass hardware and framing profiles are what make these numbers achievable on site. Browsing our services shows how compliant design is paired with tested components so that the built facade matches the certified drawing rather than drifting from it.
Facade Materials and Systems: Pros, Cons and How to Choose
The facade system you specify affects cost, approval scrutiny and long-term maintenance, so the choice should be made deliberately at design stage. Hyderabad's climate - hot summers, heavy monsoon-driven wind and dust - rewards systems that seal well and shed heat.
- Structural / unitised glazing: a fully glazed, frameless-looking curtain wall. Pros: premium appearance, daylight, fast factory-assembled installation. Cons: higher cost, strict wind and fire-stop compliance, more heat gain unless double-glazed.
- Semi-unitised and captured (framed) glazing: aluminium mullions hold each pane. Pros: economical, easy to service, forgiving of site tolerances. Cons: visible grid lines, slightly lower thermal performance.
- Spider / point-fixed glazing: glass held by stainless spider fittings for entrances and atriums. Pros: transparency and drama. Cons: expensive, demands precise structural calculations for point loads.
- ACP cladding: aluminium composite panels over a framework. Pros: low cost, wide colour range, quick coverage of large blank walls. Cons: choose fire-retardant (FR/A2) grade only - ordinary PE-core panels are a fire risk and increasingly restricted.
For most Hyderabad commercial buildings a mixed approach works best: glazing on the primary street facade for image, with ACP cladding on side and rear elevations to control budget. Match every system to the sanctioned elevation, the 44 m/s wind pressure and the fire-stop detail before you commit to a supplier.
Additional NOCs for Medium and High-Rise Facades
Buildings taller than 15 m require statutory No-Objection Certificates before the facade can be built, obtained through the single-window portal. These clearances run in parallel with the building permit and are pre-conditions for the occupancy certificate - skipping them stalls the whole project at handover.
- Fire NOC from the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department: mandatory for buildings above 15 m and for commercial buildings regardless of height.
- Airport height clearance (NOC) from the Airports Authority of India (AAI): confirms the building and any facade projections stay within permitted height, critical near the Begumpet and Shamshabad (RGIA) flight paths.
- Environmental clearance for built-up area above 20,000 sq. m under EIA norms.
- Structural stability certificate from a licensed structural engineer confirming the facade anchoring to the building frame.
For high-rise glazed towers, the fire NOC conditions often dictate spandrel and fire-stop details at each slab, so the facade section drawing and the fire clearance must agree before execution begins. Aligning them late is a classic cause of costly rework near completion.
Timelines, INR Fees and Realistic Cost Breakdown
Facade and building-permit approval timelines in Hyderabad range from instant self-certification to about 21 working days for single-window cases, and deemed approval can apply if GHMC does not act within the statutory period. Budget both the statutory charges and the facade execution cost from day one - they are separate line items.
- GHMC statutory fees: building permit and betterment charges are calculated per sq. m of built-up area - commonly a few hundred INR upward per sq. m depending on category and location - plus a refundable mortgage/security deposit for larger buildings.
- Design and consultant costs: architect and structural engineer fees for the drawings and certificates, typically a small percentage of project cost.
- Facade supply-and-fix (indicative, separate from GHMC fees): ACP cladding roughly INR 250-450 per sq. ft, semi-unitised or unitised structural glazing roughly INR 500-1,100 per sq. ft, and spider glazing systems from around INR 900 per sq. ft, varying with glass spec and hardware.
- Double-glazed and low-E units cost more up front but cut air-conditioning load in Hyderabad's heat, often paying back over the building's life.
Keep the drawings, the hardware schedule and the structural calculations aligned so that the certified elevation, the ordered materials and the built facade all tell the same story - that consistency is what prevents both approval delays and site rework.
Common Mistakes That Get Facade Approvals Rejected
Most facade rejections and enforcement actions in Hyderabad trace back to a handful of avoidable errors. Knowing them in advance is the cheapest form of insurance on a facade project.
- Facade or balconies projecting into mandatory setbacks - a very common cause of deviation notices.
- Elevation height exceeding the sanctioned limit, or an extra floor added beyond the permit.
- Missing or delayed fire NOC and AAI height clearance for buildings above 15 m.
- Glass balconies, canopies or projections built on site but never shown on the approved elevation.
- Using non-fire-rated (PE-core) ACP where fire-retardant grade is required.
- Structural calculations that do not reflect the actual glass thickness and hardware used, so the as-built facade fails inspection.
Deviations built outside the sanctioned elevation attract penalisation or demolition under GHMC town-planning enforcement and can block the occupancy certificate, holding up sale, lease or handover. The safest path is to lock the facade design, materials and NOC conditions before the elevation is submitted, not after.
How Hakimi Aluminium and Glass Helps With GHMC-Compliant Facades
Hakimi Aluminium and Glass provides GHMC-compliant facade design, structural glazing drawings and end-to-end execution across Hyderabad, Secunderabad and the surrounding Telangana and Andhra Pradesh region. We work alongside your architect and Licensed Technical Person so the elevation submitted to TG-bPASS is buildable, standards-compliant and cost-controlled from the start.
- Facade and elevation design that respects setbacks, height limits and NBC 2016 fire provisions.
- Structural glazing and curtain wall calculations to IS 875 (Part 3) with safety glass to IS 2553.
- Supply of tested Taiton, Enox and Ozone hardware, from door and structural fittings to sliding and patch systems.
- ACP cladding installation and glass facade execution matched precisely to the sanctioned drawing.
To start a compliant facade project or get an itemised estimate, get a free quote and share your plot size, height and location - and we will map your building to the correct TG-bPASS track before design begins.
