Owners of properties in flood-prone areas of Bengaluru stuck

Yelahanka Kogilu Cross was among the places that were flooded during rains in Bengaluru on October 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K

For Neelufur Ahmed, who invested a huge amount in building her house in Sai Layout in Bengaluru, it’s a choice between a rock and a hard place. Though she has this fear that her house will get flooded every time it rains, she has no option but to keep on living there.

“Those who are willing to buy our property are willing to pay only the land cost. We’ve invested nearly a ₹1 crore on the house,” she said.

This is the dilemma of many property owners affected by repeated instances of flooding. They can neither abandon their property that they’ve spent their life’s savings on, nor can they find someone willing to buy it and take on the same fate. 

Ms. Ahmed added that the ₹10,000 compensation offered by the government of Karnataka after the floods is simply not enough to cover the cost of their losses.

A resident of Kendriya Vihar Apartments, which had to stay elsewhere for over a week owing to flooding, hoped that this was a temporary phenomenon and the government would find a permanent solution to the problem.

But real estate consultants and developers say that the recent flooding is not going to dent the property boom in Bengaluru, barring in those areas that have borne the brunt of flooding repeatedly. 

Suneel Krishna from Samruddhi Properties said, “The demand for some areas, which were flooded, might come down because people will hesitate, but prices will not come down. Real estate in north Bangalore is booming.” 

Suresh Hari, secretary, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), Karnataka, contended that most established builders take care of specifications such as the waterbed. 

“Brand Bengaluru may get hit because of negative publicity, but we don’t expect a major hit on property prices. Where the flooding has happened is where there’s unplanned development. Nature’s fury cannot be avoided. Man-made disasters can be mended. It needs to be a combined effort of lawmakers and other stakeholders involved. Compliance and monitoring are important. Instead of creating rules which are not needed, they need to create those that are essential. Some rules are complicated. Those who follow are suffering more. They need to be strict in enforcing the process instead of creating more,” he said. 

B.S. Nesara, chairman, Concorde, further said that there are many factors that determine a decision to buy property, including the location or the micro market, proximity to schools, workplace, social infrastructure, availability of potable water, and public mobility options like the metro. 

“Flooding is certainly a deterrent to the decision to buy, especially if they are considering purchase in an affected area. On the contrary, this should create awareness among home buyers. It should nudge them towards looking at ‘Grade A’ developments from reputed developers in better developments. From another point of view, floods attract a lot of often exaggerated global negative media publicity for Brand Bengaluru, which is not good for the city. We hope that the government takes some action to mitigate this,” he said.