Lake buffer zone in Bangalore: the current rules and what to check

5.3.1 What is the lake buffer zone in Bangalore now?

The lake buffer zone is the strip around a lake where most building is not allowed. Since 2026, its width depends on the lake’s area. The Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (Amendment) Act, 2025 changed Section 12 of the 2014 tank law. A TeamLease regulatory update says the state notified it on 18 February 2026, as Karnataka Act No. 19 of 2026. A June 2026 government draft notification cites it as Notification DPAL 49 SHASANA 2025, dated 18 February 2026. The buffer is measured from the lake’s revenue boundary. The Bill as passed by the Assembly gives a table of seven size bands. The smallest tanks, up to 0.05 in the table’s unit, have no buffer. Lakes above 100 acres keep 30 metres. Sachi read the Bill text, not the gazetted Act. Check the gazette with a lawyer, because news reports say the Governor returned the Bill once before it was notified. The amendment also allows some public works, such as roads, sewage plants and water lines, with the Authority’s prior approval.

Lake area (unit as printed in the Bill: acre/gunta)	Buffer from the revenue boundary
Up to 0.05	0 metres
Above 0.05 up to 0.10	1 metre
Above 0.10 up to 1.00	3 metres
Above 1.00 up to 10.00	6 metres
Above 10.00 up to 25.00	12 metres
Above 25.00 up to 100.00	24 metres
Above 100.00	30 metres

5.3.2 What was the lake buffer before 2026?

Before the 2026 change, both the state tank law and Bangalore’s master plan used 30 metres around a lake. Section 12(3) of the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority Act, 2014 set the rule. It barred construction, and commercial, recreational or industrial activity, within 30 metres of a tank’s outer boundary. Bangalore’s Revised Master Plan 2015 (RMP 2015) had the same width. Its regulation 4.12.2 says a 30-metre “no development zone” must be kept around a lake, as per revenue records. The plan allowed this buffer to count as park space when plans were sanctioned. This history matters for a flat buyer for one reason. A project sanctioned before February 2026 was sanctioned when the 30-metre rule applied. A project sanctioned later can sit closer to a small lake. Check the sanction date on the building plan, and ask which buffer rule the authority applied. A June 2026 draft notification proposes to replace the RMP 2015 lake note with the new tank law. It was a draft when Sachi checked it.

Rule	Lake buffer	Status
Tank law, 2014, Section 12(3)	30 metres from the outer boundary, for every tank	Replaced by the 2025 amendment
RMP 2015, regulation 4.12.2	30 metres around the lake, as per revenue records	June 2026 draft proposes to replace it
Tank law as amended, notified 18 February 2026	0 to 30 metres by lake area, from the revenue boundary	In force, as reported

5.3.3 What is the buffer for a rajakaluve or storm-water drain?

Storm-water drains, called rajakaluves, have their own buffers, and these have also become narrower. RMP 2015 classed drains as primary, secondary and tertiary. It set buffers of 50, 25 and 15 metres on either side, measured from the centre of the drain. It also said that if a map left out a buffer by mistake, the authority must apply it from revenue records. The June 2026 draft notification, UDD 338 MNJ 2026(E), cites a newer order. It says Notification UDD 468 MNJ 2025(E), dated 15 October 2025, applies to drains. Under it, the buffers are 15, 10 and 5 metres on either side. They are measured from the edge of the drain, as per revenue records and the alignment on the ground. Sachi read the June 2026 draft, but not the 15 October 2025 notification itself. So confirm the current drain buffer with the planning authority or a lawyer. A drain buffer still matters for flooding, because the drain carries the area’s rainwater past your site.

Drain type	RMP 2015 buffer, from the drain centre	Buffer cited in the June 2026 draft, from the drain edge
Primary	50 metres each side	15 metres each side
Secondary	25 metres each side	10 metres each side
Tertiary	15 metres each side	5 metres each side

5.3.4 How do you check if a project is within a lake or drain buffer?

Start from the land records and the sanctioned plan, not from the project name or a map pin. Ask the builder for the sanctioned building plan and the survey sketch of the land. Check whether the plan marks the lake or drain buffer as a strip that cannot be built on. If it shows no buffer, ask why, in writing. Note the sanction date, because the rule that applied depends on it. Then find the lake’s area and its revenue boundary. The lake’s area decides the buffer band under the 2026 law. A licensed surveyor can measure the distance from that boundary to the project’s boundary. A lawyer can then confirm which rule applied on the sanction date, and whether any order or case affects the land. Do not measure a legal buffer on a phone map. Map layers can be inaccurate, and the law measures from the revenue boundary, not from the water’s edge.

1. Ask for the sanctioned plan and the survey sketch.
2. Check that the plan marks the lake or drain buffer.
3. Note the sanction date.
4. Ask a licensed surveyor to measure from the lake’s revenue boundary.
5. Ask a lawyer to confirm the rule that applied on that date.

5.3.5 Does a smaller buffer make a flat near a lake safe from flooding?

No. A buffer is a legal limit on building, and it does not measure flood risk. Water flows by the slope of the land, so a site can flood even if it is outside every legal buffer. A narrower buffer can also put new buildings closer to water that rises in heavy rain. Visit the site, and the road from the main road to the gate, after heavy rain. Look for water marks on walls, silt on the road and blocked drains. Ask residents and shopkeepers nearby when the area last flooded, and how deep the water was. Check where the basement, the lift pits and the electrical rooms are, because water there can cut power to the whole building. Ask the builder how the project drains rainwater, and where it discharges. The best areas chapter explains the KSNDMC flood information for Bangalore. If the site or the access road looks low, ask a civil engineer to review the drainage design before you book.

What to check	Why it matters
Water marks and silt after rain	Shows how high water rose before
The access road	A dry flat with a flooded road is still cut off
Basement, lift pits and electrical rooms	Water there can cut power to the building
Rainwater drainage and discharge point	Shows where the site’s water goes
Residents’ memory of past floods	Gives dates and depths that no map shows

Sachi stores the locations of Bangalore projects registered on K-RERA. To see a project’s exact location and its filed plan, Ask Sachi.