Pune district has completed 294 new borewells in rural areas and approved ₹2.56 crore to repair 611 existing borewells as authorities prepare for possible drinking-water shortages between October 2026 and June 2027.
The works are being implemented through the Zilla Parishad’s Rural Water Supply Department. Around ₹2.49 crore has been spent on the new borewells, while the sanctioned repair funding is intended for borewells that have stopped functioning or are operating at reduced capacity.
The department said the combined programme is designed to strengthen drinking-water availability in rural parts of the district, where reduced rainfall and falling water levels in village water sources have increased the risk of shortages. The completed borewells are expected to support local settlements, particularly hamlets with populations of about 100 people, for which one borewell is generally planned.
The repair programme will focus on bringing existing sources back into use. Officials said that restoring borewells with low output or no functioning capacity could help increase the availability of local water sources without relying only on new construction.
At the same time, the district administration has begun preparing a plan for areas that may face shortages during the period from October 2026 to June 2027. New borewell works are being planned according to the requirements of locations identified as potentially affected by water scarcity. Proposals seeking approval for these works will be sent to the district collector, after which further work will be taken up if approval is granted.
The department said demand for new borewells has risen because of inadequate rainfall and declining groundwater levels in villages. The current response therefore combines two approaches: adding new sources in areas where demand is expected to rise and repairing older sources that remain available but are not functioning at full capacity.
The announcement does not specify the villages covered by the 294 completed borewells or the 611 repair works, nor does it provide details of their individual water output. It also does not state whether the proposed works for the October 2026-June 2027 period have received administrative approval. These details will determine how the district’s broader water-shortage plan is implemented on the ground.
Rural Water Supply Department Executive Engineer Amit Patharwat said that demand for new borewells had increased because of insufficient rainfall and falling levels in existing village water sources. He said planning for this year’s works was underway and that proposals would be submitted to the district collector for approval.
The next formal step is the submission and consideration of proposals for additional borewells in areas identified as potentially water-stressed. The department’s immediate programme remains centred on completing the approved repairs and using the newly constructed borewells to support rural drinking-water supply.
