The Khadakwasla project will not release its summer irrigation rotation this year after Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi said the available water must be reserved for drinking purposes amid drought conditions. The decision is expected to affect irrigation across about 2.5 lakh hectares in Purandar, Daund, Baramati and Indapur talukas.
The four-dam Khadakwasla system supplies drinking water to Pune city and supports both drinking-water and irrigation needs in the four talukas. The project has a combined storage capacity of about 29 TMC. According to officials cited in the report, the summer rotation has been cancelled because the water currently available in the reservoirs is limited and the state government has directed authorities to prioritise drinking water during the drought situation.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Collector Dudi. It follows the start of the rabi rotation on September 25. The rabi release is scheduled to continue for 45 days, with water being released at approximately 1,100 cusecs a day. About 4 TMC is expected to be supplied through this first rotation, although officials said the quantity could change depending on the available storage.
The reservoirs were filled to capacity during this year’s monsoon. However, heavy rainfall in the catchment areas led to the release of about 19 TMC into the Mutha river. Around 6.38 TMC was also released through the canal system before the rabi rotation began. Officials said the canal release benefited kharif crops in the four talukas, where rainfall was lower.
The scale of the irrigation impact is evident from last year’s releases. The first summer rotation ran from February 17 to May 11 and supplied about 6.97 TMC. It was halted for nine days after a canal breach near Hadapsar. The release supported irrigation over approximately 2.5 lakh hectares. A second summer rotation ran from May 12 to June 13 and supplied another 3.40 TMC. Together, the two summer rotations used about 10.35 TMC of water.
The earlier seasonal releases also included a 15-day kharif rotation that supplied about 400 million cubic feet. The rabi rotation continued from December 9 to February 10, 2026, for 64 days and supplied approximately 3.77 TMC. These figures show how the Khadakwasla system serves multiple competing needs across Pune city and the eastern and southeastern parts of the district.
The current decision places drinking-water security ahead of the summer irrigation schedule. For farmers who depend on canal releases after the rabi season, the absence of the rotation will reduce planned water availability. The authorities have not announced an alternative summer irrigation release. The quantity supplied during the ongoing rabi rotation will instead remain subject to reservoir storage and the administration’s assessment of drinking-water requirements.
