Pune district administration has ordered a 20 per cent water cut across supplies from the Khadakwasla dam complex after reduced monsoon rainfall and forecasts of intensifying El Niño conditions. District Collector Jitendra Dudi said the reduction would apply uniformly to the Pune Municipal Corporation, irrigation departments and other local authorities.
The announcement was made on Friday as the administration reviewed water availability in the district’s reservoirs and prepared for possible shortages during the summer months. Dudi said water planning would have to account for a scenario in which there is no rainfall until August 31 next year.
The Pune Municipal Corporation will therefore face the same 20 per cent reduction as other stakeholders drawing water from the Khadakwasla system. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, which receives water from Pavna dam, will continue with its existing 10 per cent cut. The water level in Pavna dam was reported at 95 per cent.
Dudi said the Khadakwasla reservoir’s usable water level stood at 82 per cent, even though local dams typically reach 100 per cent capacity by October 15. The administration has linked the lower storage position to reduced monsoon rainfall and cited India Meteorological Department forecasts indicating that El Niño effects could intensify from December and potentially delay next year’s monsoon.
“Therefore, water management needs to be done in such a way that if there is no rain till August 31 next year, we should still have sufficient water,” Dudi said. He added that municipal corporations would need to conserve water so that adequate supplies remained available through April, May and June, when demand typically becomes more critical.
The district administration has also decided to establish flying squads to check the illegal use and misuse of potable water. Dudi said drinking water would receive priority in allocation, followed by agriculture and other requirements. The administration is focusing on managing reserves in the district’s dams while addressing current drought conditions.
The water decision comes alongside an ongoing assessment of crop damage across Pune district. Joint teams from the Revenue, Rural Development and Agriculture departments have been surveying every taluka for the past 15 days. Around 80 per cent of the assessment had been completed at the time of the review, with the administration aiming to finish the work by Sunday.
Ambegaon and Junnar, which were recently declared drought-affected, had completed between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of their assessments. Once the district-wide process is complete, the administration plans to submit a request for financial assistance to the government. Dudi said officials were working to ensure that farmers received government aid before Diwali.
The administration’s immediate water-management plan is based on conserving existing dam reserves and maintaining drinking-water supplies if the rainfall deficit continues. Further allocation decisions will follow the assessment of storage levels, rainfall conditions and requirements across municipal, agricultural and other users.
