Pune keeps 10% weekly Thursday water cut for now; no deeper cut until canal committee meets

Puneites face no increase in water cuts for now. Mayor Manjusha Nagpure has told the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to keep the current 10 per cent cut in place until the proposal for stricter restrictions comes up for discussion at the next meeting of the canal committee.

The Irrigation Department had proposed raising the cut to 20 per cent for the 2026-27 water year, saying the city's water quota had been reduced. A meeting on the proposal had been fixed for Wednesday, October 28, but it has been postponed. Nagpure said the administration will take a decision only after the matter is discussed in the canal committee.

The 20 per cent proposal is thus still only a proposal, and no decision has been taken on it. The present arrangement will continue. Water supply is cut by 10 per cent every Thursday, and this will go on. The mayor said there will be no change in how often or by how much supply is reduced.

On the quota figures, PMC had sought 21 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water for the city for 2026-27. The Irrigation Department has approved 11.33 TMC of it. The city received 16 TMC last year, so under the new approval this year's quota is 4.67 TMC lower. There is thus a gap between the water the corporation asked for and the water sanctioned.

The Khadakwasla dam project currently holds 24 TMC of water. The state government has directed that water stored in the dams be reserved for drinking. The Irrigation Department's position is that tighter limits should therefore be placed on water use.

However, Nagpure did not agree to increase the cut immediately. She says the proposal must come up for discussion in the canal committee before a final decision. The date of the canal committee's next meeting has not yet been announced.

In short, Puneites will have to bear a 10 per cent cut every Thursday, but a decision on the 20 per cent cut will be taken only after discussion in the canal committee. The mayor's instruction to PMC points the same way: the 10 per cent cut stays in force until the canal committee discusses the matter at its next meeting.