Water availability in Maharashtra dams at 44 pc, down from last year's 61 pc, says Devendra Fadnavis

Pic: PTI File

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday said water availability in dams in the state is just 44 per cent as compared to 61 per cent last year.

Speaking in the Legislative Council, Fadnavis said the condition in drought-prone Marathwada region was a matter of concern in view of the approaching summer, newswire PTI reported.

"The condition in Marathwada division is a matter of concern. Last year, (this time around) Marathwada had 47 per cent water in its dams. This year the storage is just 24 per cent. The region needs special prioritisation (with regards to water management)," the deputy CM said.

Nagpur division has 54 per cent water storage as against 55 per cent last year, while Amravati has 66 per cent, up from 57 per cent, which will suffice in summers, he added.

"Last time around the water storage in dams was 61 per cent, but this year it is 44 per cent. It is necessary to effectively manage water. Water will be first prioritised for drinking, then agriculture, followed by industry," he informed the House.

Emphasis is being given to desilting water bodies to create additional storage capacity under the Jal Yukt Shivar scheme, Fadnavis said.

Earlier, Fadnavis said that the state is ranked first in Foreign Direct Investment by securing over Rs 1 lakh crore of overseas fund flows and trumping the next three states on the list by a significant margin,.

Speaking in the Legislative Council, Fadnavis said Maharashtra received investment of Rs 1,00,112 crore between April and December, newswire PTI reported.

"This is important because the states we say there is a competition with like Karnataka has secured investment of Rs 30,219 crore, Gujarat Rs 48,410 crore, Delhi Rs 31,361 crore. If the FDI of these states are combined, then it comes to around Rs 1,09,000 crore, while Maharashtra alone has secured investment of Rs 1 lakh crore," he said in the House.

The FDI data comes as major relief to the Eknath Shinde government, which has been battling opposition allegations that big ticket projects were leaving Maharashtra for other states.

Meanwhile, the week-long budget session of the Maharashtra legislature ended here on Friday with the passage of the interim budget in the Assembly.

The monsoon session of the legislature will commence in Mumbai from June 10 after the Lok Sabha polls and will see presentation of a full-fledged budget, presiding officers of both houses announced, newswire PTI reported.

The budget session began on February 26 and an interim budget was presented in the Assembly the next day by Finance Minister Ajit Pawar.

The Governor's address to both houses took place on February 20 during a day-long special session of the legislature where a bill granting 10 per cent separate quota to the Maratha community in government jobs and educational institutes was unanimously passed.

An interim budget, instead of a full one, was presented in view of the Lok Sabha polls which are likely to be held in April-May. An interim budget outlines the government's expenditure and revenue proposals for a few months until a full-fledged budget is presented.