PMC plans to ‘purchase’ dam from irrigation dept for even water distribution in Pune

In order to avoid conflicts regarding water distribution in the city, municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad, who presented the draft budget on Monday, said that Pune must have a dedicated dam for water supply. For this, he has proposed purchasing a dam from the irrigation department.

“Instead of fighting over water and paying huge amount as water fees, we can purchase a dam from the irrigation department. I have instructed the administration to begin dialogue with them. As there is no site available to construct a new dam, we can purchase one. We haven’t finalised on any particular dam yet,” said Gaikwad.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said, “The proposal is good. The government is planning to use water from Mulshi dam for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. There is no space to construct a new dam. Tata is generating electricity using water from Mulshi. We will try to use this water in Pune too.”

According to officials, the PMC is lifting 16 TMC water per annum rather than the approved 11.5 TMC from the Khadakwasla reservoir. This is creating problems for water distribution. Recently, the irrigation department sent a Rs 300 crore bill to PMC as water fee.