Satara drought: Desai orders equal sharing of dam water, 11 TMC reserved for drinking

Given the drought conditions, Guardian Minister Shambhuraj Desai has directed that the water in Satara district's dams be shared equally and that no taluka be treated unfairly. He said dam water should first be reserved for drinking.

The canal advisory committee meeting for the 2026-27 rabi season for the Dhom, Balkawadi, Urmodi, Kanher and Tarli projects was held at the Planning Bhavan in the District Collector's office, with Desai presiding. Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil joined through video conferencing. Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Jaykumar Gore, Public Works Minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makarand Patil and Zilla Parishad president Priya Shinde were also present.

Among the MLAs, Arun Lad, Dhairyasheel Kadam, Mahesh Shinde, Manoj Ghorpade, Dr Atul Bhosale and Suhas Babar attended. District Collector Santosh Patil, Chief Executive Officer Yashni Nagarajan and Water Resources Department Superintending Engineer Jayant Shinde were also present. Vishwajeet Kadam joined through video conferencing.

Desai said water must be used very sparingly and according to proper planning. He suggested that the water-sharing plan be redrawn in January, based on the storage available that month, so that all areas get an equal share of water for both drinking and farming.

The guardian minister also directed that proposals for desilting Kolhapur-type dams and ponds be submitted immediately, and that work to stop leakage in lift irrigation schemes be taken up at once. Officials were also asked to send the government, as early as possible, a proposal to reserve 20 per cent of the Koyna dam's water for irrigation and drinking, and a proposal to give the Satara district canal advisory committee the authority to plan the use of Koyna's water.

Gore proposed at the meeting that the authority to plan Koyna dam's water be given to the Satara canal committee, and asked that the proposal be sent to the government.

Bhosale said water should be released from the dams for farming and drinking with drinking water schemes kept in mind first. According to him, all Kolhapur-type dams in the district should be kept in good condition so that people continue to get a smooth supply of irrigation and drinking water.

Makarand Patil suggested that the water left over from the kharif season be released from Balkawadi, which would benefit the paddy crop. He said electricity bills of lift irrigation schemes should not be recovered from farmers and should instead be adjusted against the drought fund. He also said power to drinking water schemes should not be cut.

At the meeting, Jayant Shinde said rabi irrigation has been planned for 61,000 hectares in the district, with wheat, jowar and fodder crops given priority. He also said 11 TMC of water has been reserved for drinking.