Maharashtra demands MCC relaxation to deal with water crisis
Mumbai: As the state has been facing drought in Marathwada region, the Maharashtra government has sought permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to relax the model code of conduct (MCC). An official from Maharashtra Chief Electoral Office (CEO) said that the state government has sought relaxation for providing drinking water, giving assistance for losses due to unseasonal rains and mitigation measures for disaster management.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also took stock of the drought and water scarcity at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad) with the district administration and his cabinet colleagues Tanaji Sawant and Girish Mahajan.
The Maharashtra government’s request to the ECI was sent on Wednesday evening. The Maharashtra Congress had made the same demand earlier on Wednesday.
A senior official from Maharasthra CEO said, “Maharashtra Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer has written a letter to the ECI in connection with relaxation of MCC. We have forwarded the state government’s request to the ECI and expect a reply in the next two days.”
After the review meeting at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, the chief minister said that 1,250 villages of Marathwada are being provided water through 1,837 water tankers. “Instructions have been issued to the district collectors to provide water tankers to all villages demanding the same. After receiving the proposal for tankers, water tankers should be provided within three days,” he said.
The chief minister said that there is enough fodder to feed the animals. He directed the administration to conduct panchnamas to assess the losses of farmers due to unseasonal rain in order to provide government aid to them.
As per the state irrigation department, 24.03 percent water was left in the dams of all six divisions of the state. “Marathwada region, which has eight districts, has only 9.73 percent water,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the water stock in Mumbai also plummeted to 10.28 per cent. However, no water cut has been planned in the country’s financial capital. According to the data of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the water stock in all seven lakes have been recorded at 10.28 per cent on May 22, which is considerably lower than the 15.99 recorded on the same day last year and 20.63 per cent in 2022.
Speaking with this newspaper, BMC chief and administrator Bhushan Gagrani said that there would be no water cut in the city. “But we will review the situation again next week,” Mr. Gagrani said.