On March 31, registration offices at ISBT and Pari Bazaar in Bhopal processed over 1,000 property registrations before new stamp duty rates took effect April 1. Stamp duties increased 50% or more in 104 locations, with some areas seeing increases of 100%, 150%, and 181%. The single day generated Rs 20 crore in revenue, surpassing the district's annual target of Rs 350 crore. Registration slots were expanded to 700 per office at ISBT, Pari Bazaar and Govindpura, with operations continuing until night. Buyers secured slots in early morning hours; one buyer booked at 2 a.m. and obtained a demand draft at 10 a.m. Standard construction cost rose from Rs 13,000 to Rs 14,000 per square metre, adding Rs 10,000 in registration costs for a 1,000 sq. ft. property. The hike applies to houses, shops, flats, warehouses and commercial premises.

In most parts of Bhopal, property market rates are higher than the proposed hike in collector guideline rates. The proposal for hiking rates at 340 locations in Bhopal has been put on hold following opposition from CREDAI and elected representatives including MP and MLAs. The revised rates majorly affected properties in Huzur and Kolar tehsils.

In Kolar: market rates for plots are around Rs 33,000/sq m, constructed areas Rs 55,000/sq m, and commercial plots Rs 1.10 lakh/sq m.

CREDAI Bhopal chapter president Manoj Meek stated the concern is not only about market rates but implications for property taxes and financial burden on people. BJP MLA Bhagwandas Sabnani, a district valuation committee member, suggested keeping registry rates low to increase land sales and purchases, warning that high registry rates cause properties to move unregistered, causing government revenue loss.

District administration and stamps officials in Bhopal propose property price hikes ranging from 5% to 250% at 230 locations in the state capital.

Bhopal Development Plan 2047 proposes new rules for road widths, land use and building development, but residents and experts say parking, daily amenities and civic infrastructure remain concerns in Arera Colony as redevelopment expands.

Resident Purnendu Shukla said government-leased quarters allotted to MPEB employees for residential use are operating as offices, sometimes with no employee or engineer living there. Large-vehicle parking has damaged sewage lines and residents’ gates. Residents fear broad mixed-land-use provisions could allow non-residential use despite residential lease terms.

The draft identifies multi-level parking facilities at MP Nagar Zone-1, Bairagarh, New Market, Ibrahimpura and Moti Masjid, plus off-street and on-street parking locations, but provides no separate parking inventory for Arera Colony. It mentions “12% open area, half for parking.”

MANIT Department of Architecture and Planning head Dr Krishna Kumar Dhote called for assessing water, drainage, electricity and other service capacity before further development. The plan does not address government-leased properties; retrospective land-use regularisation would not convert leases to freehold without Supreme Court directions.

• The Madhya Pradesh government released Bhopal’s draft Development Plan-2047, the first new plan in more than two decades; the 1995 plan was intended to run until 2005. It plans for a population of around 45 lakh.
• Of the 1,01,690-hectare investment region, 61,017 hectares (60%) are proposed for urban uses and 40,673 hectares for water bodies, agriculture and other uses. Green and eco-sensitive zones cover 27%; 3,289.94 hectares are for parks, sports grounds, gardens, lakefronts, urban forests and afforestation. Around 10% is recommended for mixed-use recreation.
• Residential use covers 26,240 hectares (43% of planned urban land), divided into existing, proposed, limited-density, future and highly environment-sensitive zones. Limited-density areas include VIP areas, Arera Colony, Chunabhatti, Shyamla Hills, Vijay Nagar, Char Imli and Gandhi Nagar. A new system allows residential and commercial activity in the same zone.
• Commercial zones include MP Nagar, New Market and Misrod; MP Nagar permits redevelopment of old buildings at higher FAR. Shops, offices and housing are allowed in mixed-use areas.
• A 51-km corridor across about 3,000 hectares would connect proposed Education Knowledge Artificial Intelligence (EKAI) City at Bhauri, the airport, commercial areas, logistics and wholesale hubs, and suburbs. It would include housing, hotels, hospitals, IT and AI facilities, data centres, malls, offices and educational institutions. BRTS is proposed initially, with possible later conversion to MRTS; links would connect roads toward Vidisha, Raisen, Narmadapuram and Indore.
• Development Plan roads would increase from 515.78 km to 795.61 km. Roads toward Narmadapuram, Raisen, Berasia, Vidisha and Bilkisganj would be 60 metres wide outside the urban area and 45 metres within it; Kolar Road would be 45 metres and Chiklod Road 30 metres.
• Metro would expand from 27.8 km to 95.82 km, with Transit-Oriented Development zones extending 500 metres on both sides of existing and future lines. Upper Lake (Bhojtal) is divided into BIZ-0, BIZ-1 and BIZ-2; a 1,791.84-hectare eco-sensitive zone is proposed around Ratapani Sanctuary.