The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to consider recycling sewage water so that it can be used for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes in view of the drought situation in the state
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government to consider recycling sewage water so that it can be used for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes in view of the drought situation in the state.
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A division bench headed by Justice V M Kanade had earlier raised concerns over the drought situation in Maharashtra and asked the government whether it had a contingency plan in place in view of the steady decline in rainfall in the state for the past few years.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by Solapur-based farmer Siddeshwar Warade seeking direction to the government to release water from Ujani dam for irrigation in Mohol and Mangalwedha talukas of Solapur.
The court was on Wednesday informed by Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority that it will not be feasible to release water from the Ujani dam at the moment, but the situation will be reviewed at the end of October. The authority suggested to the court that sewage water should be treated and used for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes so that the water available through rainfall can be used for drinking purposes only.
Taking note of this suggestion, the court said, "Recycling seems to be the only solution. The government should consider this. "In our view if water is treated and recycled and used for non-irrigation and irrigation purposes, much of the problem can be solved not only in the district of Solapur but in all other districts of Maharashtra," Justice Kanade said.