Hyderabad and its four police commissionerates: what has changed, and why? Explained

The story so far:

Nine months after the Telangana Government redrew the policing map of Hyderabad and its suburbs, it has returned to the exercise with another round of changes. Government Orders issued on September 30 modify police jurisdictions across Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri commissionerates, creating a new Law and Order zone and divisions, realigning traffic and other wings, and correcting boundaries at the police station level.

The changes built on the December 29, 2025 reorganisation replaced the familiar ‘tri-commissionerate’ arrangement of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda with four commissionerates. So, why has the map changed again, and what do the latest changes mean?

Why was another rejig necessary?

The three commissionerates had roots in an earlier restructuring in 2016, when the geographically vast Cyberabad Commissionerate was split, with Cyberabad East subsequently becoming Rachakonda.

The December reorganisation placed major State institutions and sensitive locations, including the Assembly, Secretariat, Begumpet and Shamshabad airport, under Hyderabad. The western IT and industrial corridors, including Gachibowli, Financial District, Nanakramguda, Madhapur, Raidurg, Patancheru, Genome Valley, Ramachandrapuram and Ameenpur, remained with Cyberabad. Malkajgiri emerged from the erstwhile Rachakonda structure, while Chevella, Moinabad, Shankarpally, Maheshwaram and Ibrahimpatnam were among the areas brought under the newly created Future City Commissionerate.

By July 2026, implementation of certain aspects of the December orders remained incomplete, leading to confusion over territorial jurisdictions. A review was consequently undertaken to settle police station limits while considering municipal boundaries, revenue divisions and court jurisdictions, along with future urban expansion, population growth and administrative requirements.

The objective of the reshuffle is to bring the geographical limits of the police commissionerates and their constituent units more closely in line with the corresponding municipal areas, according to a senior official involved in the exercise. This is intended to reduce instances where civic and police jurisdictions cut across each other, making administration and coordination more cumbersome.

The exercise has also involved a wider rationalisation of police jurisdictions. Territorial contiguity, the crime profile of different areas and policing requirements on the ground were among the considerations while deciding where the boundaries should fall. The requirement for greater traffic policing and Women Police presence in certain areas was also assessed.