RailEnquiry

MUMBAI :  Water scarcity in the drought-prone areas of Maharashtra has turned grim. The State Government is looking to supply water to these areas using railway tankers, according to Jayant Patil, Maharashtra’s Minister for Rural Development.Patil said a delegation of Ministers from Maharashtra are to meet their counterparts in Karnataka seeking water for towns and villages which are on the border of the two States, “We had provided 2 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water to Karnataka last year. Now, given the drought situation in Maharashtra, it’s their turn to provide water to us,” he said.Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will soon nominate the ministers for the delegation.

FINANCIAL AID

As many as 15 districts have been affected badly by the severe drought-like conditions that have hit the State. Officials said the Kharif crop in many areas has already been affected due to water scarcity, and the rabi crop could also get affected. The State witnessed a similar situation in 2003, when 12 districts were termed drought-affected.

The State Government has sought Rs 2,900 crore in financial aid from the Centre. However, the Centre has not given a definite timeline for releasing the funds.

A senior Maharashtra Government official said that since the priority is always given for drinking water, the water released from the dams would be first diverted, using the canal network, to the lakes and ponds, and reserved for human consumption.

A campaign is to be launched to ensure that the local water bodies are filled up first. The State Government has also decided that electricity used for water supply in the villages will get a subsidy. Electricity bills up to 66 per cent of the total amount would be paid by the State Government, while the rest would be paid by the village panchayats, the official said.