Chief minister to decide Pune's water quota; PMC sought 18 TMC, plan provides 13 TMC

The chief minister will now take the final decision on how much water Pune city gets and how the total water is used. This was made clear at a meeting of the canal advisory committee in Pune. The Pune Municipal Corporation had sought 18 TMC of water, but the plan provides 13 TMC up to August 30, 2027.

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne, and MPs Supriya Sule and Shrirang Barne were present. MLAs Uma Khapre, Amit Gorkhe and Hemant Rasane also attended. Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, Additional Commissioner Pavneet Kaur, District Collector Jitendra Dudi and CEO Gajanan Patil attended, along with officials of the zilla parishad and the agriculture and irrigation departments.

Pawar said the water rotation plan decided in the meeting with the chief minister would be implemented first. The state of water storage and use would then be reviewed again in December-January. She said the government was trying to meet everyone's water needs. A further decision will be taken in the committee's January meeting after assessing the situation.

Water planning for the rabi season has also been done. A total of 4.5 TMC of water will be released in a rotation for this season. The rotation has begun and water is planned to be released until November 15. The committee stressed that available storage should be used by balancing the city's drinking water needs with the water required for village farming. The next rotation will also be decided at the January meeting.

Vikhe Patil directed that no one, whether in the city or villages, should be treated unfairly in distributing water, and that everything should proceed according to the plan. The civic body has been asked to set up a separate control room in each of its ward offices to raise public awareness about water cuts, wastage and the economical use of available water. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has also been directed to take due care in water planning.

The issue of cuts has flared up again. The irrigation department had asked the civic body to cut water by 20 per cent for planning up to July 31. Mayor Manjusha Nagpure had then directed that no cut be made until the canal committee met. A demand had also been made to restore the city's reduced water quota from 11.33 TMC to 16.19 TMC. However, the meeting planned only 13 TMC for Pune. With the water falling short of the civic body's demand, the question of a 20 per cent cut in the city's water supply has resurfaced.