On 16 September 2023, the government of Maharashtra held a special cabinet meeting in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the Marathwada administrative division in the state. In the meeting, the state government took multiple decisions regarding Marathwada, approved many projects, and sanctioned various grants for development works in the region. In an interaction with the media after this meeting, Maharashtra’s chief minister Eknath Shinde said that the Marathwada Water Grid Project will be the game changer for this region and that it will bring prosperity to the farmers in the drought-hit Marathwada region.
CM Eknath Shinde said, “Marathwada Water Grid Project can be a very big game changer for this region. Unfortunately, during the two-and-a-half years of rule of the MVA government, it was put in cold storage. Had they been pushing it a little more, it would have advanced ahead by now. But it is our ill fate that they (Uddhav Thackeray’s government) did not do it. I don’t know if it was halted intentionally. We are taking it ahead. The union government and honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself are ready to extend all the support we need for this so that the drought-hit region of Marathwada gets water and the farmers in the region prosper. So, in this way, it is a very big game changer project.”
#WATCH | Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra: On the Marathwada Water Grid project, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde says,"…It could prove to be a game changer…Unfortunately, it was in cold storage…We are taking it forward…Prime Minister Modi will also help(for it) so… pic.twitter.com/8bi5Cjptrp
— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2023
CM Shinde also took a dig at the previous state government and said, “Some people say that you only do announcements but I would like to tell them that in the whole year whatever decisions our government took from the first cabinet till now, we have kept in mind the welfare of people. We have granted 35 irrigation projects for farmers. How many grants have been given by the earlier government? So, we don’t just make announcements and keep them on paper, we implement them,” CM Eknath Shinde said.
Further, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also spoke after the Cabinet meeting and said that the state government has sent a newly updated proposal of the Har ghar Jal programme to the Centre and requested them to help us. “When Har Ghar Jal program was announced many states sent their proposals to the Centre. Unfortunately, the Maharashtra CM at that time did not send any proposal. Now our government has sent a newly updated proposal and requested them (Centre) to help us,” Devendra Fadnavis said.
What is the Marathwada Water Grid Project?
The Marathwada Water Grid Project is an ambitious project to provide a sustainable water supply to the drought-prone Marathwada region. The project was announced by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in 2016, with an initial budget of Rs. 25,000 crore. However, the budget has since been increased and can go up to Rs. 40000 crore till its completion which will be spent at various stages of the project.
Marathwada encompasses eight districts, namely Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, and Jalna, collectively housing more than 12,000 villages.
In July 2019, the state cabinet approved Rs 4300 crores for the first phase of this water grid project in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna districts. However, the government could not continue after the election in October 2019. The project which was stalled during the subsequent MVA government is now revitalised by the Eknath Shinde government in the recent cabinet meeting at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The project will involve connecting 11 dams in the Marathwada region through a network of pipelines. The dams to be connected in the region are Jayakwadi Dam at Paithan in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Mula Dam in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Siddheshwar Dam in Parbhani, Manjra Dam at Dhanegaon in Beed, Kesapuri Dam at Majalgaon in Beed, Terna Dam in Dharashiv, Sina Kolegaon Dam in Latur, Lower Terna Dam in Latur, Manar Dam in Nanded, Vishnupuri Dam in Nanded, and Yeldari Dam in Nanded district.
The total length of the pipeline network is expected to be around 3,000 km. The project will provide drinking water to over 2 crore people in 8 districts, 76 towns, 79 talukas, and over 12,000 villages. The pipeline, which will be laid for the water grid in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, will be 737 km long, while that in Jalna district will be 458.29 km long. The detailed plans for other districts are underway.
The Marathwada Water Grid Project is a complex project that will involve a variety of engineering challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the natural topography of the region. The region has a lot of hills and valleys giving it a topography of mid to high levels with diverse spreads of varying elevation over the terrain which will make it difficult to lay the pipelines. Devendra Fadnavis took up the challenge when he was chief minister of Maharashtra. After a halt of three and a half years to this project, he has taken the initiative to revive it as the deputy chief minister of the state.
To overcome this topographical challenge, the project will use a combination of gravity flow and pumping stations. Gravity flow will be used in areas where the natural topography is favourable. Pumping stations will be used to lift the water to higher elevations. The project will also use water purification plants to ensure that the water supplied to the people is of good quality. The water purification plants will be located at strategic locations along the pipeline network. The water supplied through this network will be used for drinking and civil use, irrigation, and industrial purposes.
In January 2018, a significant milestone was achieved as Mekorot Development & Services Ltd, the national water company of Israel, and Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Marathwada Water Grid Project. This collaboration with Israel, known for its expertise in water management, holds immense promise for the Marathwada region, which spans over 65,000 square kilometres and grapples with inadequate rainfall, resulting in distress among farmers and frequent crop failures leading to widespread farmer suicides.
The Marathwada Water Grid Project is an ambitious project that has the potential to transform the Marathwada region. The project will provide a sustainable water supply to the people, which will help to improve their quality of life and boost agriculture and industrial development in the region.
A Brief History of Marathwada Water Crisis Resolution Efforts
During the period of Congress-NCP governance, spanning from 1999 to 2014, a notable collaborative effort emerged within Marathwada, involving representatives from various political parties. Their common goal was to address the region’s pressing water crisis by linking the Krishna River basin to the Godavari River basin. This ambitious project envisioned the transportation of approximately 27 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water from western Maharashtra to Marathwada, primarily through Marathwada’s southwestern regions.
Vilasrao Deshmukh, a prominent Congress leader, held the position of Chief Minister of the state during this crucial time. His cooperative relationship and understanding with the opposition leader of the BJP, Gopinath Munde, played a pivotal role in forging a consensus. As a result, regional policymakers mutually agreed to divert 23 TMC of water from the Krishna River basin to alleviate Marathwada’s water woes.
Of the allocated 23 TMC, it was anticipated that villages in Beed and Dharashiv districts would receive 7 TMC of water through the Krishna-Marathwada scheme, sourced from the Ujani dam. However, it’s important to note that a dispute surrounding the allocation of the remaining 16 TMC of water from the Krishna basin to Marathwada remains unresolved and is currently pending before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal.
It is also notable that Vilasrao Deshmukh was chief minister of the state for more than nine years in three different terms. He hails from Latur in the southern part of Marathwada. He could not bring a drop of water to Latur. He had to face fierce opposition from the Congress and NCP MLAs from western Maharashtra before considering any demand of people from Marathwada. This also affected the funds allocation. Latur was also worst affected by the severe water crisis in Marathwada that lasted from 2012 to 2016.
In such a situation, Devendra Fadnavis became the chief minister of Maharashtra. It was Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who in 2015-2016 sent a water train from Miraj in western Maharashtra to Latur – the hometown of the second longest-serving chief minister of the state. Next year, Fadnavis came up with the idea of linking all the dams in Marathwada with a pipeline. This was named as Marathwada Water Grid Project. The project is expected to mitigate multiple issues in the region. Let us now dive deeper into the socioeconomic problems due to the scarcity of water in this region.
Water Scarcity is the root cause of many problems in Marathwada
The Marathwada region has historically had no other revenue source than agriculture. Nizam implemented the Jagirdari system where local feudal landlords would exploit others as labourers in their farms. After merging with the Indian Republic, the region experienced perpetual neglect. The water scarcity which already prevailed, was joined by the irregular rain pattern due to the climate change over the next decades. Every 2 decades, this region experiences a severe drought affecting the rainfall for continuous 3 to 4 years. This has given politicians an uncontrolled freedom to become more exploitative in this region which has the worst poverty index in the state.
As a result, people gradually left farming and started pursuing higher studies. Migration to Pune and Mumbai became the life goal of the youth in Marathwada. After the Jayakwadi dam was built in 1976 near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, some industries dared to step into this region. With this dam, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar went on to become the only industrial hub in the region and the sole option of migration within the region for the local youth. Operating water tanker services and illegal smuggling of sand from the dry river basins became attractive businesses for mafias.
As recent as 2018, about 4000 water tanker service operators were active in Marathwada. These operators take water from private borewells and sell it at any price. The cost goes up every week especially from the first week of February when most of the water bodies in the region see a near bottom level. This water tanker business has taken a heavy toll on the groundwater level of the region because nobody practised groundwater recharge for decades before Devendra Fadnavis brought in the Jalayukt Shivar Yojana (the water-rich farmland scheme) in 2016. This scheme was focused on groundwater recharge as well as broadening and deepening the river banks.
Implementation of this Water Grid Project is important; but not that easy
Like every audacious goal, the Marathwada Water Grid Project also has its own perceived challenges to address. Many self-styled experts have talked about those challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the scarcity of water in the Marathwada region. The region is frequently affected by droughts, and the dams in the region seldom fill up to their full capacity. This raises the question of how the pipeline grid will be profitable if there is scarce water in the first place.
The cost of the Marathwada Water Grid Project is estimated to be Rs. 40,000 crore. This is a huge investment, 60% of which is to be borne by the implementing company while 40% will be given by the state government under a hybrid annuity model. The 40% amount will be given during the construction period in instalments based on the percentage of construction completed and the rest of the amount will be given after the project completion. The advantage of HAM is that it gives enough liquidity to the developer and the financial risk is shared by the government. The pace of industrialisation growth after this project is expected to be higher. Farm produce is also expected to improve. But everything is just on paper right now, there is no clear idea about the time to recover the expenditure.
The pumping of water through the pipeline grid will require a lot of electricity. This will lead to high electricity bills for the consumers which are local bodies in this case. For example, the Latur municipal corporation pays crores of rupees for the electricity bill for pumping the water supplied to the city from the Manjra dam. Besides, the leakages and maintenance issues of the pipeline may lead to various local disputes. Therefore, carefully planned implementation of this project is extremely necessary to ensure that the people get the benefits aimed by this project.
Plight of Marathwada
The plight of Marathwada is much more than just the water and drought issue. The region was under the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad till 17 September 1948, when it was merged into the Indian Republic after a brief military action of 4-5 days. The Nizam of Hyderabad was a Muslim ruler who ruled over a large part of the Deccan plateau, including Marathwada. The Nizam’s rule was oppressive and tyrannical. The people of Marathwada suffered under his rule. In 1947, India gained independence from British rule. However, the Nizam of Hyderabad refused to join the Indian Union. He wanted to remain an independent ruler. The Indian government launched a military operation in September 1948 to liberate Hyderabad. The operation was a success, and Hyderabad was merged into the Indian Union.
After independence, Marathwada was merged into the state of Maharashtra. However, the region has always received step-motherly treatment from the state government. Unlike Vidarbha, another drought-prone region in Maharashtra, Marathwada did not put any condition to merge in the Marathi state. However, it has always received step-motherly treatment from the state government. Nagpur in Vidarbha was given an assembly house and a dedicated winter session of the assembly, the status of a deputy-capital (or sub-capital), a high court bench, and whatnot.
But Marathwada got only a high court and a promise to hold an annual meeting of the state government’s cabinet in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city. All other questions of the region went unanswered for the last 75 years as the cabinet meeting promise was also not kept. This cabinet meeting would not happen for years. Even in 2016, when Devendra Fadnavis was the chief minister, this meeting had taken place after a gap of 8 years.
As the Hyderabad liberation day which is also known as the Marathwada Mukti Divas in this region marks the completion of 75 years on 17th September 2023, this Marathwada Water Grid Project is seen as a ray of hope for the long-ignored region waiting to recover its eternal backlog of development.
