Pune: Water distribution planning delayed as District Guardian Minister is still not appointed

Pune: The District Guardian Minister will be appointed after the State Cabinet expansion on December 14. Thus, the appointment of the minister will be done after over a week. Till then, the Canal Committee, which distributes water in the district, will not be able to hold its meeting. Thus, the water distribution planning will be delayed.

The Khadakwasla chain of dams supplies water to Pune. The PMC has demanded 23.34 TMC water. However, the State Water Resources Department has granted 12.82 TMC water to the civic body as per the criteria fixed by the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA). The State Water Resources Department claimed that the civic body, in fact, lifts 17 TMC water annually.

The State Government can increase the quota of water from the dam. However, it has been ignoring the PMC’s demands for the past 10 years.

The State Government has decided the water distribution priority, under which drinking water gets the first preference followed by agriculture and industry. The Khadakwasla dam water is used for drinking water needs of the city. Moreover, water is also released for drinking and irrigation purposes to Daund, Indapur and Baramati talukas.

The water distribution planning needs to be done now considering the drinking water needs of the city, irrigation rounds and evaporation. The monsoon onset was delayed in the past some years. Rainfall till June was not adequate. Therefore, the expected water storage remained unavailable. The city faced water cuts in June.

The Canal Committee usually holds its meeting in October and decides water distribution. Planning for drinking and irrigation needs is done on the basis of the storage on October 15. The committee could not meet due to the Model Code of Conduct this year. The new State Government is in place. Now, all eyes are set on the water distribution planning.

‘The PMC pumping station should be handed over to Water Resources Department’

The tussle between the PMC and the Water Resources Department is likely to intensify in the future. The latter blames the former for excessive use of water due to a lack of control by the former. In this backdrop, the Water Resources Department has now made a big demand.

The Khadakwasla Irrigation Division has written a letter to the PMC. It states: “The Municipal Corporation should hand over its pumping station to the Water Resources Department.” Civic officials said that the PMC has not made any decision on the demand.