It is not just farmers; Marathwada’s real estate market is also on the verge of collapse because of the acute water shortage in the region. In cases of places like Latur, Aurangabad where the drought conditions are being widely reported, real estate developers and brokers here fear that the negative image of ‘no water’ will result in loss of inflow in terms of investment in the reality sector.
“With trains ferrying water into Latur, the area has been turned into a symbol of drought. This has created a negative image in the minds of people across the country. I have around eight ongoing under-construction projects in different parts of Latur, but unfortunately as the Latur municipal corporation has stopped water supply to construction sites, I had to stop the construction work. This has on one hand escalated estimated construction cost and on the other hand the real estate value is decreasing day by day. One of the costliest flats in Latur was previously available at Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per square feet, which has gone down to say Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 per square feet,” said Jaywant Gete, a developer from the region.
Latur is known for having small, cottage-style homes where private plot owners or developers either buy vacant plots and sell them as it is or they construct these cottage-style homes on it and sell them later. “There is an abundance of these plots available but there is no demand for buying these plots in Latur and Aurangabad,” said Samir Sheikh, a real estate broker who deals in selling land parcels in Latur and Aurangabad. He also said, “The drought has given rise to a situation where a few prefer migrating to western or eastern cities of the state and the market is turning into a seller’s market where there are sellers in bulk but there are no buyers due to the shortage of water.”
Real estate experts opine that this may not necessarily hit the residential or commercial market only but will not allow industrialists from within or outside the country to set up their establishments due to recent instances of government cutting water supply to industrial units.
“Water is a basic need. From drinking to construction, it is required for all purposes and non-availability of water affects the industrial or the retail real estate sector at a macro level,” said Pankaj Kapoor, managing director, Liases & Foras, real estate consultancy.
