Shivtare seeks free Purandar lift irrigation water for farmers, writes to CM Fadnavis

Saswad: Citing drought-like conditions in Purandar, MLA Vijay Shivtare has strongly demanded that water from the Purandar Upsa scheme be given free to farmers. He said neither water charges nor electricity bills should be collected from farmers. Shivtare has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, seeking an early decision.

The letter says 4.5 TMC of water released into the river after use in Pune city is supplied to Purandar farmers through the Purandar Upsa irrigation scheme. Farmers in the area grow vegetables, fruit and flowers with this water, and the produce is important in meeting the daily needs of Pune city and surrounding areas. According to the letter, running the scheme entirely free is necessary in the present circumstances to pull farmers out of financial distress. It adds that if the government arranges the cost and supplies the water, farmers battling drought will get relief.

Meanwhile, Shivtare held an important meeting with Water Resources Department officials on several issues, including the Purandar Upsa scheme. Present were Sanjeev Chopde, executive director of the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation, Chief Engineer Praveen Kole, Executive Engineer Amarjit Birajdar and Deputy Executive Engineer Jyoti Ghuge. Farmers also attended. Shivtare directed the officials concerned to distribute water among farmers fairly.

Shivtare said farmers were scrambling for Purandar Upsa water in this period of scarcity to save their crops. He said officials of the scheme were arbitrarily charging farmers more money and that he had received many complaints about it. He demanded that officials who had charged extra money be investigated.

Shivtare said Purandar Upsa water is the farmers' right and no farmer needs to pay extra. Last year the water charge was 19 per cent, and this year too it has to be paid at the same rate. He appealed to farmers not to pay in cash. QR codes have been put up at taluka level and at pump houses, and payment should be made online through them.

Shivtare has also received complaints that many officials of the scheme do not supply water on time to some farmers even after taking money from them, and give water to chosen people at their convenience. He has instructed the officials that there should be no politics or arbitrariness in a time of scarcity and that everyone should be treated equally. To ensure there is no discrimination in water distribution and that everything remains transparent, a dashboard is being installed at the scheme's office. It will show which farmer paid and when, which area will get water today, when water will be released in another area, and for how many hours and how much water will be supplied. According to Shivtare, this will reduce irregularities in distribution and water will be shared transparently.