The Maharashtra Water Resources Department has directed 38 government, local-body and private entities in Pune district to reduce their water use by 20% after storage in the Khadakwasla dam chain fell to about 25 TMC, roughly 12% below last year’s level. The conservation measures are intended to help maintain drinking-water supplies until August 31, 2027.
The instructions have been issued to 19 government and local-government agencies and 19 private institutions and consumers. Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations, industrial areas, gram panchayats, educational institutions, factories, private townships and other establishments are among those covered by the directives.
The department has also included the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s industrial areas in Chinchwad and Hinjewadi, 11 gram panchayats, a municipal council, a cantonment board, industrial establishments and a cooperative sugar factory in the water-use planning. Letters have been sent to the concerned organisations.
Kiran Deshmukh, executive engineer with the Water Resources Department, said the names of institutions that do not implement the 20% reduction would be submitted to the district collector. The department said the measures were designed to ensure economical use of the available water stock and to give priority to drinking-water requirements.
The directives also outline measures against unauthorised water extraction. The revenue, Mahavitaran, police and Water Resources departments will undertake joint action to prevent illegal withdrawals. Pumps and motors used for unauthorised extraction will be seized, while electricity connections may be disconnected if water theft is detected.
The concerned institutions have been made responsible for preventing leakage, wastage and unauthorised use. The department has also advised that treated water should be used wherever possible for landscaping, construction and industrial processes.
The water allocation decision will affect irrigation planning as well. A meeting chaired by Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi concluded that water would be released for the rabi season after considering the available stock. However, summer irrigation rotations are unlikely to be possible because sufficient storage may not remain after planning for drinking-water requirements across the projects.
The Water Resources Department will plan supplies from the available storage with the objective of maintaining drinking-water availability through August 31, 2027. Irrigation releases during the rabi season will therefore be decided after accounting for both the existing stock and water requirements in the period that follows.
