New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) In a major push to eliminate drought in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced that the state will give top priority to the Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission, the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), and various state-level water conservation initiatives.

The announcement followed a high-level meeting chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil. The Central government responded positively to Maharashtra’s financial and infrastructural demands aimed at expediting pending water projects, the Chief Minister said.

CM Fadnavis told reporters that the meeting extensively reviewed ongoing irrigation projects under the PMKSY. He said he had requested additional funds to complete pending projects and received assurances of substantial financial assistance from the Centre.

“Funding will be allocated on a priority basis to schemes that are already 50 per cent to 75 per cent complete, as well as those over 75 per cent complete. Maharashtra expects to receive approximately Rs 6,800 crore from the Central government to accelerate these pipeline and water infrastructure projects. To ensure transparency and quality, state and Central officials have already thoroughly reviewed 90 per cent of the schemes,” he said.

“Completed water supply schemes will undergo precise verification at the village, Gram Panchayat, taluka and district levels. We are rectifying identified gaps and strengthening water sources to ensure high-quality execution,” CM Fadnavis added.

Highlighting Maharashtra’s unique challenge, the Chief Minister noted that despite housing nearly 40 per cent of the nation’s dams, approximately 50 per cent of the state remains drought-prone. He emphasised that long-term water conservation and public participation (Jan Bhagidari) are the only sustainable solutions.

According to the Chief Minister, the state plans to scale up initiatives such as ‘Jal Tara’ and ‘Jalyukt Shivar’ by converging them with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

“Under revised guidelines, MGNREGA funds allocated for water conservation will be structured according to groundwater depletion levels. For dark zones (severely depleted), 65 per cent of funds will be reserved for water conservation; for semi-critical or semi-dark zones, 40 per cent to 45 per cent of funds will be reserved; and for other zones, 30 per cent of funds will be reserved,” he said.

Aligning with the Prime Minister’s vision to prioritise intra-state river grid systems over time-consuming inter-state projects, Maharashtra is pushing ahead with major river-linking networks.

The Chief Minister asserted that projects such as the Wainganga-Nalganga river link and diversion of west-flowing rivers towards Marathwada and north Maharashtra could permanently eradicate drought in 52 per cent of the affected regions.

He said the Wainganga-Nalganga project plans to divert 62 TMC of the 100 TMC of water that annually drains into the sea. The Ulhas Basin project proposes diverting 75 TMC of the available 350 TMC of water towards the parched Marathwada region.

All necessary feasibility studies and reports have been completed and the state is now awaiting final clearance from the Central Water Commission (CWC) to initiate the tendering process, he said.

Additionally, the Chief Minister highlighted the cross-border ‘Mega Recharge’ project signed between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, calling it a national model for groundwater replenishment.

“Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil lauded Maharashtra’s ‘Jal Tara’ initiative, highlighting its high efficiency in mitigating the agrarian crisis and preventing farmer suicides in Vidarbha and Nagpur. The low-cost structure, costing just Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000, allows 3 lakh to 4 lakh litres of water to percolate into the ground per acre in a single season,” CM Fadnavis said.

–IANS

sj/pgh