Mumbai, Oct 21 — Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil on Monday directed the administration to prepare and submit realistic, village-wise action plans for potential water scarcity across all stages in the Nagpur, Amravati, and Konkan divisions by October 25.
Minister Patil also instructed officials to prioritise the completion and operationalisation of drinking water supply projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission that have reached between 75 per cent and 99 per cent progress.
The minister's directives come after the state government has already announced drought in 304 talukas following scanty rainfall and launched 12 mitigation measures.
Addressing a high-level review meeting, Minister Patil evaluated the water supply status, groundwater levels, and mitigation measures for potential water scarcity in Nagpur, Amravati, and Konkan regions. While noting that there is currently no severe water scarcity in these regions, the Minister emphasised the need for administrative preparedness ahead of upcoming months.
"The administration must remain proactive. Action plans should be framed based on ground-level inspections and extensive consultations with public representatives, sarpanches, gram panchayats, and local officials," he said.
Minister Patil instructed that pending works such as pipeline laying, pump installation, electrical connections, and transformer setups for projects in their final stages must be completed on a priority basis.
Schemes exceeding 75 per cent completion must have their package details verified and certified promptly to ensure smooth funding releases. He said that a dedicated plan for strengthening local water sources must be created for potential tanker-dependent villages.
Authorities should utilise 2 per cent of the District Planning Committee (DPC) funds primarily for source augmentation. Groundwater recharge works, including well recharging, farm ponds, cement bandharas, cement plugs, continuous contour trenches (CCT), and repairs of older bunds—must be carried out by tapping into District Planning, Mining, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, he stated.
Minister Patil reiterated that deploying water tankers should only serve as an ultimate last resort. Prior to that, officials must enforce cleaning and disinfection of available public wells. He asked the administration to focus on the rejuvenation of local water sources and efficient water budget planning and disciplined water conservation practices.
He strictly instructed officers to immediately visit villages and take necessary action whenever complaints regarding water scarcity surface or media reports highlight local distress.
To ensure long-term operational success, Minister Patil said that fixed timelines must be established to hand over completed and successfully tested water supply schemes to Zilla Parishads or Gram Panchayats. In cases of delay by local bodies in accepting projects, formal proceedings will follow state policy guidelines.
Zilla Parishads and Gram Panchayats are expected to handle operation, maintenance, and electricity billing effectively. Local officials were advised to coordinate directly with District Collectors and Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to resolve any persistent transformer or power connection hurdles, he said.