Maharashtra’s municipal corporations, municipalities and gram panchayats must cut piped water supply by at least 10% from October 16. Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan announced the order on Monday, October 5, citing a weak monsoon and the risk of El Niño dragging dry conditions into next year, as India TV and The Hans India reported.
The order sets a minimum and leaves the method to each local body, which can choose fewer supply hours, lower pressure, or skipped days. You have about a week before those local circulars start landing.
The plan runs to August 2027
The Water Resources Department says it has planned stock in every dam, use by use, up to August 31, 2027. Drinking water gets first claim on that stock after the department deducts losses to evaporation, silt and illegal pumping. Livestock and fodder come next. Farmers get irrigation releases only after those needs are covered.
Within farming, rabi foodgrains and fodder crops rank first, then other rabi crops. Perennial crops such as sugarcane and orchards get water only if some remains, according to The Live Nagpur. Each dam will also hold back an extra 10% as an emergency buffer.
The order follows the state’s drought declaration last month for 265 of its 358 talukas, which we covered here. That declaration brought loan and fee relief for farmers; the water order extends restrictions to urban households as well.
Other duties for local bodies and industry
- Leak drives: civic bodies must run special campaigns to find and fix leaking mains and connections.
- Sewage plants at full capacity: treated wastewater should go to gardening, construction and vehicle washing instead of fresh supply.
- Industry: factories must reuse or recycle at least 30% of the water they consume.
- Illegal pumping: The Live Nagpur reports that joint teams from the water, revenue and police departments can seize unauthorised pumps on dams, rivers and canals.
Pimpri Chinchwad shows the squeeze
A flat 10% hits harder in cities already short of water. Pimpri Chinchwad has run on alternate-day supply since November 2019. Punekar News reports that the city draws about 665 MLD a day from Pavana dam, Andra dam and MIDC, against an estimated need of 770 MLD. An earlier 15% cut stayed in place even after July rains filled both dams.
If the new 10% applies to that full 665 MLD allocation, the city loses about 66 MLD more, and its daily gap grows from roughly 105 MLD to over 170 MLD. Around 34 housing societies in Wakad, each with 200 to 500 flats, already get about half their requirement from the civic body and buy tanker water for the rest, the outlet reported. A water department engineer told Punekar News a letter would reach the corporation; a PCMC deputy city engineer said the civic body would plan distribution once it arrived.
The state order names no city-wise figures. Corporations with fuller lakes may apply it differently from those in Marathwada, where some cities have already moved to fines for waste, as in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
What to do before October 16
- Watch for your civic body’s schedule. Ward-level supply timings usually change with these orders. Check your corporation’s website or ward office notices in the coming week.
- Fix leaks at home. A dripping tap or running flush wastes water you will now receive less of. Societies should check overhead tanks and inlet valves.
- Plan storage. If your area moves to shorter hours or lower pressure, upper floors and tail-end areas feel it first. Societies on the edge of supply zones should check how many hours of storage their sumps hold.
- Budget for tankers if you already depend on them. Societies like those in Wakad will need to cover a larger share of their demand privately.
What to watch
The 10% figure is a floor. Local bodies or the department can go deeper if reservoir stocks fall faster than planned, and a plan that runs to August 2027 leaves room for restrictions through next summer. Watch for local circulars from your municipal corporation before October 16, and for the first rabi irrigation release schedules, which will show how much water farmers actually get after the drinking-water reserve.
Sources: India TV, The Hans India, The Live Nagpur, Punekar News
This report was written with AI assistance from the publicly reported sources linked here; each fact was cross-checked against at least two of them.