Allocate ₹3,000 crore annually to bridge Marathwada’s irrigation backlog

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Marathwada faces a water deficit of 260 TMC, and its irrigation backlog has climbed to ₹50,000 crore. To overcome this crisis, the Marathwada Jal Samruddhi Pratishthan (MJSP) on Monday demanded that the government allocate ₹3,000 crore every year. The demand was made during a press conference organised at the Massia office.

Dr. Shankarrao Nagare, president of the MJSP, said that 70 per cent of Marathwada is drought-prone. According to the Irrigation Commission’s standards, the region has a shortfall of 260 TMC water. To bridge this gap, in 2019, the government approved 155 TMC water from the 168.75 TMC surplus of west-flowing Konkan rivers for drought-hit Marathwada.

Last year, it was also decided to allocate 30 TMC water from floodwaters of Sangli and Kolhapur rivers and 23 TMC water from the Ujani dam, as per the 2005 cabinet resolution. This totals 43 TMC water from the Krishna basin for Dharashiv, Beed, and Latur districts, which should be provided immediately. Similarly, 32 TMC water from Vidarbha’s surplus should be diverted for Parbhani, Nanded, and Hingoli districts. Due to excessive upstream water use, the Jayakwadi dam is facing a shortfall of 30 TMC water. Therefore, no new projects should be approved in the upstream areas, and the water diverted to Shahapur should be returned to Marathwada, the MJSP demanded.

The press meet was attended by vice-president Anil Patil, secretary Ramakant Pulkundwar, K M Wadgaonkar, Sarjerao Wagh, Arun Ghate, Dr. Rajaram Damgir, Rahul Mogle, Manish Agrawal, Sachin Gayake, Rajendra Chaudhary, among others.

Connect Marathwada to Nashik

The Marathwada Water Grid Project has been initiated by the state government. To ensure adequate water for this project, the foundation suggested that Marathwada dams be connected to Nashik district through closed pipelines. It also demanded the revival of the Marathwada Development Board.