Pune residents will not face any additional water cuts for now after Mayor Manjushree Nagpure directed the municipal administration to maintain the existing schedule until the canal committee decides the city’s water allocation. A Pune Municipal Corporation meeting planned for Wednesday to review water supply arrangements has also been cancelled.
Nagpure said the municipal administration would take its next decision only after the canal committee settles the availability and distribution of water. The committee’s decision is expected to determine how much water Pune receives for drinking purposes while also accounting for irrigation requirements in the state water resources department’s planning.
The Pune Municipal Corporation had proposed a non-irrigation water entitlement of 21.34 thousand million cubic feet, or TMC, for the 2026-27 year. The approved allocation for the city is 11.33 TMC. The civic administration has argued that this is inadequate because Pune is already implementing water cuts and its demand has increased with population growth.
According to information shared by the mayor, Pune requires at least 16 TMC compared with the previous year. The currently approved allocation is therefore 4.67 TMC below that requirement. The municipal corporation has asked that the calculation of the city’s water entitlement be reviewed and that Pune receive an increased allocation.
The civic water supply department has also objected to the basis on which the approved quota was calculated. It has said that the allocation calculation did not properly account for the 34 villages added to the municipal limits, the extent of water leakage and the contribution of treated wastewater reuse. Chief Engineer Nandkishor Jagtap has reportedly written to the Pune Irrigation Circle seeking a reassessment of the city’s water entitlement on these grounds.
The mayor said around 24 TMC of water was available in the dams. The municipal corporation is using this availability, along with the city’s drinking water needs, to seek a sufficient allocation from the authorities. The final decision, however, will also have to account for planned water rotations for agriculture.
Pune has been observing a full-day water supply shutdown every Thursday since October 15. Residents are currently required to plan their weekly water use around that interruption. The mayor said the existing cuts should continue until the canal committee decides the allocation, rather than being increased before the water-sharing position is clear.
The cancellation of the municipal meeting means that further changes to Pune’s water supply schedule will be considered only after the canal committee’s decision. Until then, the current Thursday shutdown and other existing restrictions will remain in place, while the city awaits clarity on its increased water quota request.
