One Mega City for Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar: What the AUDA-GUDA Merger Means for the Region

Gujarat is thinking bigger than single cities. According to a report in DeshGujarat on 19 June 2026, the state government is preparing to bring the urban areas of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar under one administrative roof, by merging the two development authorities, AUDA and GUDA, into a single joint urban authority. The groundwork for a new Development Plan 2041 has already begun, and the planning has one eye on Gujarat's bid to host the 2036 Olympics.

If it goes through, this would reshape how the entire Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar region is planned and governed for the next two decades. Here is what has been proposed, and where the wider growth story, including Dholera and GIFT City, fits into it.

First, a quick caveat: this is early-stage planning

The merger has not happened yet. What has started is the exercise of preparing Development Plan 2041, the document that would define the new authority's boundaries, rules and priorities. Plans of this scale take years to move from drawing board to notification, so treat the details below as the current direction of travel, not a finished policy. We will update this post as the plan firms up.

What is actually being planned

The core idea is simple: instead of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar being planned by separate authorities with their own rules, one body would oversee the whole region. That means a single set of town-planning schemes, FSI norms and zoning laws across what are today two districts with two municipal corporations, two authorities and five municipalities.

The headline numbers

A few figures from the report show just how large this would be:

• Area: the combined urban-authority area today is roughly 2,600 square kilometres. The new plan aims to expand it to between 5,000 and 6,000 square kilometres.
• Bodies merged: two municipal corporations, two development authorities and five municipalities would come under one umbrella.
• Population: by the latest census trends, close to 25% of Gujarat's entire population is expected to live in this single conurbation in the years ahead.

Built on the MMRDA model

The blueprint borrows from Mumbai. Much like the MMRDA handles planning across the wider Mumbai region, the new Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar authority would take charge of development, pollution control and waste management for the combined area. The aim is consistency, so that rules and standards do not change every time you cross an invisible administrative line.

Transport is a big part of this. Local services such as the BRTS, the Metro and city buses would be run under a single umbrella, which should make travel across the region smoother for residents and commuters.

Which areas would be included

Beyond the two core cities, the plan proposes folding in several industrial and peripheral towns so they develop to the same standard:

• Industrial belts such as Kalol, Dahegam, Sanand, Bavla, Chhatral and Changodar.
• Mehmedabad and the OG areas of Kheda district.

Sanand is worth a special mention, since it is already one of Gujarat's most important manufacturing hubs and sits on the road toward the Dholera corridor.

Where Dholera and GIFT City fit in

This is the part worth being precise about, because it is easy to overstate.

GIFT City sits inside the Gandhinagar side of the region, so it falls naturally within the footprint of this new authority. Dholera is different. It is governed by its own dedicated authority under the Dholera Special Investment Region framework, and it is not being merged into AUDA-GUDA. So this is not a case of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Dholera all becoming one administrative unit.

What is true, and more useful for investors, is the bigger pattern. The state is clearly building one continuous world-class region with two engines. To the north is the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar urban core, soon to be planned as a single mega city. To the south is Dholera, the new greenfield industrial smart city, connected to that core by the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway and planned rail and metro links. A merged, better-planned northern core makes the whole corridor stronger, and Dholera is plugged directly into it.

Why this matters for the Dholera corridor

Even though Dholera keeps its own authority, a unified Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar region is good news for everyone along this growth axis:

• Better connectivity. A single transport authority across the north makes it easier to link the urban core to the Dholera corridor with consistent planning.
• Consistent rules attract investment. Uniform FSI, zoning and town-planning across a huge region reduce friction for the kind of large industrial and commercial investors Dholera also courts.
• A genuine world-class region. The Olympics-2036 ambition behind this plan signals a sustained, long-term government push to modernise the whole Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar-Dholera belt, not just one city.

A reality check

It is worth keeping expectations sensible:

• DP-2041 is a planning exercise. The final boundaries, structure and rules can still change.
• Large mergers and area expansions play out over years, so the benefits are long-term rather than immediate.
• For Dholera specifically, this is a regional tailwind, not a direct change to how Dholera itself is governed or sold.

What to watch next

The signals worth following from here are the formal notification of DP-2041, the final shape of the combined authority, the confirmed list of included areas, and how transport networks get integrated across the region. Each of those will tell you how quickly the mega-city vision is moving from paper to ground.

Frequently asked questions

What is the AUDA-GUDA merger?

It is Gujarat's plan to combine the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) and the Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority (GUDA) into a single joint urban authority, so the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar region is planned and governed as one unit.

How big would the new mega city authority be?

The plan proposes expanding the combined area from about 2,600 square kilometres today to between 5,000 and 6,000 square kilometres, covering two municipal corporations, two authorities and five municipalities.

Is Dholera part of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar mega city?

No. Dholera has its own authority under the Dholera Special Investment Region framework and is not part of the AUDA-GUDA merger. It is, however, the southern industrial pillar of the same regional growth story, connected by the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway.

What is Development Plan 2041 (DP-2041)?

DP-2041 is the new development plan being prepared for the merged authority. It would set the boundaries, town-planning schemes, FSI norms, zoning and infrastructure priorities for the combined region through 2041.

Does this affect Dholera real estate?

Indirectly and positively. A stronger, better-connected Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar core supports the entire corridor, including Dholera. It is a long-term tailwind rather than an immediate change.

Want to invest along the Ahmedabad-Dholera corridor? Talk to the RB Falcon team about title-clear plots in Dholera, or read our guide to the top Dholera SIR developers before you decide.

Source: DeshGujarat, "Gujarat Plans Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Mega Urban Authority Through AUDA-GUDA Merger," 19 June 2026.