Drought and water conservation in Maharashtra

In April 2016, a train of wagons carrying water rolled into Latur in Marathwada. The town's reservoirs had run dry, and the state had arranged for water to be brought by rail from Miraj, over 300 km away. The images of that train — the "Jaldoot" — became a symbol of Maharashtra's water crisis.

The irony is sharp. Maharashtra has more large dams than any other Indian state. Yet drought returns again and again. Understanding why — and what has actually worked — is essential for MPSC.

Why Maharashtra suffers drought

Natural causes

• Rain shadow: a large belt east of the Sahyadri receives low rainfall (see our guide on climate).
• Erratic monsoon: rain comes in a few intense spells with long dry gaps.
• Basalt geology: the Deccan basalt stores relatively little groundwater, so aquifers recharge slowly and deplete quickly.
• High evaporation in the hot, dry months.

Human causes

• Water-intensive crops: sugarcane occupies a small share of cropped area but consumes a very large share of irrigation water.
• Groundwater over-extraction: deeper and deeper borewells.
• Incomplete irrigation projects: many projects remained unfinished for years, with cost overruns — issues highlighted by the white paper on irrigation and the Chitale committee in the early 2010s.
• Deforestation and soil erosion, which reduce infiltration and silt up reservoirs.
• Urban demand growing faster than supply.

Drought-prone regions

• Marathwada — Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Jalna, Parbhani and others.
• The rain shadow belt of western Maharashtra — Solapur, Sangli (Jat, Atpadi), Satara (Man, Khatav), Pune (east), Ahilyanagar.
• Parts of Vidarbha and Khandesh, which face periodic dry spells.

How drought is declared

Drought declaration follows the Manual for Drought Management issued by the Union government (revised in 2016), which uses indicators in stages:

• rainfall deficit and dry spells;
• vegetation indices (from satellite data), crop sown area, soil moisture and hydrological indicators;
• ground truthing through field verification of crop damage.

Once drought is declared, relief measures follow — such as input subsidies, suspension of loan recovery, drinking water tankers, fodder camps and employment works.

What has worked: community models

Ralegan Siddhi (Ahilyanagar district)

Under the leadership of Anna Hazare, from the 1970s–80s, the village of Ralegan Siddhi transformed itself through:

• watershed development — contour trenches, check dams, percolation tanks;
• social rules — bans on alcohol, free grazing and tree felling (nasbandi, nashabandi, charaibandi, kurhadbandi);
• shramdaan (voluntary labour).

Hiware Bazar (Ahilyanagar district)

Under sarpanch Popatrao Pawar, Hiware Bazar became a model of:

• watershed development and groundwater recharge;
• a water budget — the village estimates available water each year and plans its crops accordingly;
• restrictions on borewells and water-intensive crops.

It is often cited for its dramatic rise in incomes and near-elimination of poverty.

Pani Panchayat (Pune district)

Started in the 1970s by Vilasrao Salunkhe at Naigaon (Purandar taluka), the Pani Panchayat model was based on:

• equitable water sharing — water rights linked to family size, not land holding;
• a ban on water-intensive crops such as sugarcane in the scheme;
• collective management of lift irrigation.

Government programmes

Evaluations of such programmes have been mixed: they created many structures, but questions were raised about quality, maintenance, hydrological planning and whether structures were built in the right places.

Civil society: the Water Cup

The Paani Foundation, co-founded by actor Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, started the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup in 2016 — a competition among villages to carry out watershed work through community labour. It trained villagers in watershed science and generated large-scale participation in drought-prone talukas.

Institutional reforms

• Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA), set up under a 2005 Act — among the first independent water regulators in India; it deals with water entitlements, tariffs and allocation.
• Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, 2009 — aims to regulate groundwater extraction, including restrictions on deep wells in notified areas.
• Maharashtra State Water Policy — sets priorities for water allocation (drinking water first).
• Participatory irrigation management through water users' associations.

A Mains framework: drought-proofing Maharashtra

Practice

Prelims-style:

1. Who pioneered the Pani Panchayat model, and where?
2. With which leader is Hiware Bazar associated?
3. When was the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan launched?
4. What was the "Jaldoot"?

Mains-style:

• "Drought in Maharashtra is more a problem of water governance than of water scarcity." Discuss.
• Examine the role of community participation in watershed management, with examples from Maharashtra.