The correct answer is A) Northern Circars (coastal areas).
The Northern Circars were a group of coastal districts in the present-day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They were under direct British colonial rule as part of the Madras Presidency from 1766 to 1948.
The Hyderabad city was the capital of the princely state of Hyderabad, which was not under British rule. The Deccan plateau is a large plateau in central India, and the Godavari River Valley is a river valley in the eastern part of the Deccan plateau. Both of these areas were part of the princely state of Hyderabad.
The Northern Circars were ceded to the British by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1766. They were administered as part of the Madras Presidency until 1948, when they were merged with the Hyderabad state to form the new state of Andhra Pradesh.