The Maharashtra government has directed a minimum 10% water cut from October 16, 2026.
The direction covers all municipal corporations, municipalities and gram panchayats.
The state cited a deficient monsoon and the risk of El Nino-linked water stress.
Drinking water has been given top priority.
A 10% emergency buffer will be kept in every dam.
The Maharashtra government has directed a minimum 10% water cut from October 16, 2026, after a deficient monsoon.
The direction covers all municipal corporations, municipalities and gram panchayats in the state.
Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan attributed the decision to inadequate rainfall and the continuing effects of El Nino, according to Oneindia.
Mahajan voiced concern that El Nino may persist into 2027, which is why the state is planning ahead, according to the same report.
Officials have declared drought in 265 talukas under the Trigger-1 criteria during the 2026 kharif season.
The Water Resources Department has prepared a dam-wise and use-wise water management plan that runs until August 31, 2027.
The plan allows for evaporation, silt accumulation and unauthorised extraction, and it assumes that a drought-like situation could develop.
Drinking water has been given the highest priority in the plan.
The state will also keep an additional 10% emergency buffer in every dam to ensure that reserves last through the dry months.
Local bodies must enforce the cut strictly and carry out leak-detection drives to reduce losses in supply networks.
Sewage treatment plants are to run at maximum capacity, and treated wastewater is to be used for gardening, construction and cleaning.
Industries have been asked to recycle or reuse at least 30% of the water they consume.
Irrigation ranks below drinking water, livestock and fodder in the order of priority, and among crops rabi foodgrains get priority.
Farmers have been encouraged to adopt water-efficient irrigation techniques.
Pavana Lake backwaters, Maharashtra (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
