As the State readies to battle water scarcity and the possibility of drought looms large, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed all ministers to visit tehsils facing water problems and submit a detailed report before October 31, on Tuesday.
200 talukas
Around 200 talukas in Maharashtra are facing “scarcity-like” conditions, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
“A decision of declaring the talukas as scarcity-hit will be taken by October 31. Later, a Central team will visit to review the situation and then a decision of declaring drought will be taken, since such a decision is in the Centre’s domain,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil and Transport minister Divakar Raote have been handed over the responsibility of collecting data from different parts of the State before declaring drought.
According to data from the State’s Water Resource Department, Maharashtra is left with 64.32% water in all dams, as compared to 74.68% on October 9, 2017. Marathwada is facing the worst crisis with only 26.75% water stored compared to 65.60% last year. Nasik revenue division is also facing the heat with 64.84% water remaining in its dams. Last year, the dams were filled up to 82.24% of their actual capacity.
As per the directions issued in Tuesday’s State ministerial council meeting, all ministers have been directed to visit tehsils which have received less than than 75% of the average rainfall.
Latest data
According to latest data from the Water Supply and Sanitation Department the number of tankers being used to supply water in villages has reached 354, as compared to 98 in 2017.
Marathwada and Nasik revenue divisions are the biggest beneficiaries with 198 and 125 tankers currently being used.
(With inputs from PTI)