The Maharashtra government has directed officials to expedite soil and water conservation works in Pune district ahead of the monsoon amid El Niño concerns and declining groundwater levels.
Jitendra Papalkar, secretary of the Soil and Water Conservation Department, said groundwater recharge projects must be completed on priority while maintaining quality standards.
“The objective is to complete soil and water conservation measures before the monsoon to increase groundwater levels. These important works should be completed in a time-bound manner and with quality,” Papalkar said.
Papalkar inspected ongoing projects, including repairs of percolation tanks, stream-deepening works and construction of cement nala bunds in Waghapur, Guroli and Sakurde villages.
He said water conservation was essential to address future scarcity and directed officials to undertake more such projects. He also stressed desilting of water bodies and stream-deepening works through public participation under schemes such as Galmukt Dharan-Galyukt Shivar and Jalyukt Shivar.
“Water conservation is the need of the hour. More soil and water conservation works should be taken up to deal with water scarcity,” he said.
While interacting with residents, Papalkar appealed to citizens to avoid wasting water, use it judiciously and plan for rainwater storage and utilisation during the monsoon.
At a review meeting at the Vasundhara Watershed Development Agency office, he directed officials to speed up implementation of water conservation schemes, enhance groundwater recharge and prepare for possible drought-like conditions.
He instructed officials to prioritise works in villages facing groundwater depletion and dependence on tankers, and to complete them within a short timeframe.
The meeting was attended by chief engineer Nitin Dusane, Vasundhara Watershed Development Agency CEO Kamalkar Randive, Regional Water Conservation officer Chetan Kalshetti and other department officials.
