Heritage City Raya — YEIDA's Krishna-Themed Township Near Vrindavan, Mathura

What Is Heritage City Raya?

The Raya Heritage City is a flagship cultural and tourism development initiated by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) in the Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh. Conceived as the "Raya Urban Centre," the project is inspired by the Braj culture and the life of Lord Krishna, aiming to create a global-class destination.

Raya is a small town and a nagar panchayat in UP's Mathura district that Yeida will develop as a Heritage City. The name covers two overlapping things: the broader Raya Urban Centre — a multi-thousand-hectare mixed-use planning area under YEIDA's Master Plan — and the narrower Heritage City cluster within it, a themed cultural-tourism zone of a few hundred acres built around temples, museums and pilgrim facilities.

Who Is Building It, and How

YEIDA will directly take up development of residential and commercial clusters in the ambitious Heritage City project proposed at Raya near Mathura-Vrindavan, instead of handing it entirely to a private developer as planned earlier, opting for a hybrid model that combines government-led and public-private partnership approaches. Under the new model, YEIDA develops the residential and commercial segments, while religious, tourism and cultural infrastructure will be created through PPP partnerships.

Initially YEIDA had proposed executing the project on the lines of the Film City model, with a single private developer overseeing planning, construction and management over a 10-year period, but the authority revised this after assessing financial risks and long-term feasibility. The shift followed reviews suggesting a fully PPP-based model could face cost-recovery challenges, especially as YEIDA itself is responsible for land acquisition.

YEIDA has selected CBRE South Asia as the consultant for preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR). By engaging CBRE South Asia to manage the bidding and tender processes, YEIDA is signalling intent to attract top-tier international and national real estate developers for the tourism and hospitality components.

Official Notified Area, Location and Land Use

The Uttar Pradesh government approved the Master Plan-2031 for YEIDA, marking a transformative phase for the Raya Urban Centre in Mathura, which spans 9,366.2 hectares, with potential expansion to 11,653.76 hectares. This area was expanded from 9,366 hectares to 11,653 hectares in October 2024. The urban centre layout forms a six-kilometre-wide strip along the expressway, with industrial activity concentrated primarily on one side.

Within this larger planning zone, the dedicated Heritage City cultural cluster is reported at different sizes across YEIDA disclosures and media reports over time: roughly 750 acres in the Raya Urban Centre in an early 2024 DPR figure, around 753 acres in an October 2025 report tied to a ₹7,200-crore project, and 773 acres of land at Raya in another 2025 account. These figures likely reflect successive DPR revisions rather than contradictory facts.

A published sector-wise breakdown of the heritage cluster lists: a Theme-Based Heritage Centre of 350 acres, a Yoga/Wellness/Naturopathy centre of 103 acres, a Green Park of 97 acres, a Tourist Travel Facility of 46 acres, a Convention Centre of 42 acres, an Ayurveda zone of 35 acres, Star Hotels on 26.60 acres, Budget Hotels on 19.60 acres, Old Age Homes on 10 acres, Service Apartments on 7 acres, a Haat for local art and craft on 6 acres, and a further Tourist Facility of 8.40 acres.

Land use across the wider Raya Urban Centre (Master Plan-2031)

The allocation of 2,216.25 hectares for residential use reflects YEIDA's commitment to creating vibrant living spaces within the urban centre. Approximately 701.68 hectares are allocated for commercial spaces, 853.46 hectares have been reserved for industrial development, and tourism-infrastructure area was increased from 731.3 hectares to 1,520.51 hectares. Green belts account for 1,592.26 hectares, parks and playgrounds for 586.87 hectares, and recreational green space for 287.10 hectares. Semi-public uses such as healthcare and education cover 746.83 hectares, public amenities and transport infrastructure each cover 196.48 hectares, and 89.75 hectares are set aside for ponds and water bodies. A further 459.79 hectares are reserved for future growth.

Why It Exists

To understand the necessity of Raya Heritage City, look first at the current state of Mathura and Vrindavan — twin cities that are the beating heart of Vaishnavism, attracting tens of millions of pilgrims annually, where festival footfall places immense strain on narrow lanes, causing traffic congestion, parking nightmares and a lack of organised amenities. YEIDA conceived the "Raya Urban Centre" with a dual objective of decongestion and elevation — creating a satellite counter-magnet that could absorb tourist influx, provide high-quality accommodation and transit facilities, and offer a curated cultural experience alongside the traditional pilgrimage.

Once completed, it is expected to boost religious tourism in the Mathura-Vrindavan region, generate employment opportunities, and encourage investment in hospitality and allied sectors. Vrindavan and Mathura collectively receive over 50 million visitors annually, according to Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department data cited by industry sources.

Current Status (as of mid-2026)

The project has moved through several distinct stages, each with its own official milestone:

• The DPR of the Heritage City was expected to be ready by May 2021, with CBRE South Asia selected as consultant.
• On January 29 (2024), YEIDA finalised the detailed project report (DPR) to develop the heritage city project along the Yamuna Expressway.
• In October 2024 the UP government approved YEIDA's Master Plan-2031, setting the Raya Urban Centre at 9,366.2 hectares with room to expand to 11,653.76 hectares.
• By June 2025, YEIDA had commenced the land-acquisition process for the Heritage City, actively seeking consent from local farmers, with registration of land to begin once compensation rates were finalised at an upcoming board meeting.
• By October 2025, YEIDA confirmed it would directly develop residential and commercial clusters itself rather than handing the whole project to a private developer, adopting a hybrid government-led/PPP model. The authority also instructed CBRE South Asia to carry out a comprehensive flood-impact and risk assessment before finalising the new alignment of the connecting expressway, given the site's proximity to the Yamuna floodplain.
• Under the current approach, YEIDA will provide the land while a concessionaire manages development costs under a 70-year concession model for parts of the wider Yamuna Expressway urban-centre programme.
• As of a mid-2026 industry summary, land acquisition for the Heritage City near Mathura was described as still "in progress."

In short: the master plan is approved and land acquisition is underway, but as of the most recent reporting found, no confirmed physical construction start date has been published, and reported budget figures have varied — from an early ₹1,220 crore allocated for construction in three phases by 2034 to a later ₹7,200-crore figure tied to the revised hybrid model. These differences likely reflect DPR revisions over time rather than two separate budgets.

Headline Connectivity

• The site is situated near the 101-km milestone of the Yamuna Expressway.
• YEIDA has planned a 7-kilometre expressway linking the Heritage City site with Vrindavan's Banke Bihari Temple, to improve accessibility and strengthen regional connectivity. This road, originally designed with a curved alignment, has been straightened to avoid low-lying and flood-prone areas after waterlogging incidents during a recent monsoon.
• A 12-km connector to Gokul is also planned; Raya Railway Station is roughly 5 km away, and Mathura Junction handles around 1 lakh daily passengers.
• The Delhi–Varanasi bullet train corridor passes adjacent to the project (as a planned rail line).
• Phase 1 of Noida International Airport at Jewar — reachable via the Yamuna Expressway — was formally inaugurated on 28 March 2026.

What Happens Next

Near-term milestones to watch, based on the most recent official signals:

• Farmer compensation rates for the acquired land need to be finalised by the YEIDA board before registration and sale-deed execution can proceed.
• A flood-impact and risk assessment for the revised expressway alignment, ordered from CBRE South Asia, needs to be completed given the site's proximity to the Yamuna floodplain.
• Under the hybrid model, YEIDA is expected to proceed with residential and commercial segments directly while inviting PPP partners for religious, tourism and cultural infrastructure.
• Once board approvals are secured, land acquisition and initial infrastructure works are expected to begin, followed by phased development of residential plots and cultural zones.

Given the repeated revisions to area, budget and execution model between 2021 and 2025, prospective investors and residents should treat any specific completion date as indicative only until YEIDA issues a formal construction-start notification.