Sustainable irrigation is the lifeblood for agriculture and environmental preservation. To ramp up capacity building for sustainable irrigation in the state, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis opted to expedite water conservation schemes in different parts of the state. After reviewing the status of various irrigation projects under the Water Resources Department, he granted administrative and revised administrative approvals to 381 of them and scrapped 903 projects that had been stalled for more than three years due to various reasons and had lost significance. His decision brought over 30 lakh hectares of land under irrigation coverage and saved the state from misallocation of funds. We will look at the details below.
30 lakh hectares of area irrigated through 381 irrigation project schemes
In a high-level meeting of the Water Resources Department, held recently (on June 12, 2025), Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis emphasized the time-bound execution of irrigation and pumped hydroelectric projects and directed officials to ensure the same. In this meeting, the Chief Minister, after a thorough review of the status of the various projects, gave administrative and revised administrative approval to the works of 185 irrigation projects, which will create 26 lakh 65 thousand 909 hectares of irrigation area. Additional administrative approvals were given for 196 more projects that required repair and renovation works to cover 4 lakh 2 thousand 764 hectares of irrigation lands. So, in aggregate, 381 projects were approved to irrigate 30 lakh 68 thousand 673 hectares of land in the state. At the same time, approvals were given for 24 agreements worth Rs 3 lakh 41 thousand 721 crore with 15 companies for the pumped storage hydropower projects. These projects will boost the power generation capacity of Maharashtra, creating huge job opportunities. An estimated 62 thousand 125 MW of power will be generated, and 96 thousand 190 jobs will be created.
Administrative approval of 903 water conservation schemes cancelled
Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting of the Water Resources Department on April 28, 2025, and reviewed the irrigation projects not implemented due to various reasons. In this review meeting, he decided to cancel the administrative approval of schemes stalled for more than 3 years. Accordingly, the Water Resources Department cancelled the approval of 903 schemes in the state, including small irrigation dams, Kolhapur-style dams, percolation ponds, storage ponds, etc., through a government decision dated June 5, 2025. The decision raised the eyebrows of many, with the opposition arguing against the state government’s decision to cancel the administrative approvals for 903 projects instead of giving them more time. However, this decision helped prevent misallocation of government funds and paved the way for new schemes. The stalled projects were facing problems of land acquisition at the local level. In some places, there was no cooperation from contractors. It was taking too much time due to a variety of reasons. Therefore, the Devendra Fadnavis government decided to put a stop to the incomplete schemes and instead focus on schemes that will be effective and can be completed in time without facing any critical issues.
The cancelled projects include 36 projects in Pune, 19 in Satara, 11 in Sangli, 48 in Solapur, and 416 in Ahilyanagar, Mhalunge, Thane, and Ratnagiri in western Maharashtra; 2 projects in Alyani in Murbad, 10 in Dhule, 1 in Nandurbar, 3 in Jalgaon, and 4 in Nashik in northern Maharashtra. 17 projects in Beed, 21 in Nanded, 16 in Chhatrapati Shambhajinagar, 9 in Latur, and 34 in Jalna of Marathwada. The rest are 3 in Nagpur, 5 in Gondia, 133 in Chandrapur, 48 in Bhandara, 8 in Wardha, 1 in Amravati, 41 in Washim, and 15 in Buldhana in Vidarbha.
The state’s total irrigation capacity is 56.33 lakh hectares
A total of 39.27 lakh hectares of area has been brought under irrigation in 2023-24 through the irrigation projects of the state’s Water Resources Department. As of June 30, 2023, the state’s irrigation capacity rose to 56.33 lakh hectares. A total of 3,636 irrigation projects, including 407 large and medium-sized projects and 3,229 small projects, have been completed or are in progress, according to the Maharashtra Economic Survey 2024-25.
The state’s irrigation capacity is increasing significantly in stages due to the policies and decisions by the Devendra Fadnavis government and the successful implementation of various projects by the Water Resources Department. On the one hand, CM Devendra Fadnavis cancelled 903 stalled irrigation projects to prevent the waste of government funds; on the other hand, he gave fresh administrative approvals for 381 irrigation projects to be implemented in a time-bound manner. This shows how determined Fadnavis government is about establishing sustainable irrigation in the state.
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