Will review Pune's water requirements soon: CM Eknath Shinde

PUNE: Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said his government would soon review the water availability and requirements for the city and instruct departments concerned to decide the further plan of action. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) currently lifts over 16 TMC water on an annual basis from the dams supplying water to the city.
However, the elected representatives in the civic body have been demanding an increase in the city's water quota to 20 TMC on the ground that Pune's population has increased following the merger of 34 villages with the PMC.
People living in many areas across the city still depend on tankers to meet requirements owing to a short supply of water. The PMC had approached the state government with its demand to revise the city's water quota. The state government is, however, yet to take a call on the issue.

Shinde, while speaking to the media after chairing a review meeting to take stock of the damage caused due to excess rainfall and floods in the five districts of Pune division, said the departments concerned would be asked to take necessary steps on issues related to water.
On the fate of the proposed international airport in Purandar, Shinde asserted that the facility would come up at the sanctioned site. The CM also reviewed the ongoing and proposed development projects in Pune division. He instructed officials to expedite the acquisition of land required for the proposed Pune ring road. He told them to amicably resolve the issues related to land acquisition through Lok Adalats. He directed the authorities to consider making a provision of the missing links for the ring road project.
The chief minsiter also directed the officials to prepare plans for resolving traffic snarls in the city and make use of new technologies to repair potholes.
Shinde said a meeting was on the cards to discuss a comprehensive mobility plan for areas under the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority's (PMRDA) jurisdiction. MLAs from the district and officials from the Pune revenue division were present at the review meeting.
Later in the day, the CM attended a farmers' gathering in Saswad organized by former Shiv Sena MLA Vijay Shivtare, who joined the party's Shinde faction a couple of weeks ago. He also visited the sites of the ongoing water supply schemes for Phursungi and Urali Devachi.