‘Ajit Pawar’s new dam plan holds no water’

Activists in Pune have criticised the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s statement that Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) should construct a new dam for meeting its water requirement. Instead, they argued that the guardian minister should work for watershed development in the catchment areas of the existing dams.

In a signed statement, city-based activists Sujit Patwardhan, Vijay Paranjpe, Aneeta Gokhale Benninger and others have claimed that the four existing dams of Khadakwasla, Temghar, Varasgaon, and Panshet were enough to meet the city’s water requirements.
Pawar had made the statement in Pune on Thursday, while citing the example of Mumbai.

Benninger told DNA that the city requires around 15 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water. The PMC, she pointed out purchases 29.05 TMC from the irrigation department.

Pune being in the Bhima sub-basin region, has Mula, Mutha, Ambil, Krishnavati, Pushpavati, Kukurdi, Meena, Ghod, Bhim and other rivers. Of these Mula, Mutha, Ambil and Moze are the major
rivers on which dam are constructed.

She pointed out that the four dams which supply  water to the city has a total capacity of 29.05 TMC.

“Almost 40% of water supplied is wasted in leakage and the PMC should look into this urgently,” she said.

Questioning the rationale of Pawar’s statement, Benninger said, “There are no places in Pune where dams can be constructed. Every dam for its catchment area requires a huge amount of land, and that comes by submersion of villages,” she said.

She said that the present scenario of Pune does not have any such land where dams can be constructed.

“Instead of construction of dams, Pawar should be calling for watershed development work in the catchment areas,” she said.