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Water Structures Fail Across Vidarbha as 90% Lie Defunct in Nagpur and Amravati

Water Structures Fail Across Vidarbha as 90% Lie Defunct in Nagpur and Amravati
Water Structures Fail Across Vidarbha as 90% Lie Defunct in Nagpur and Amravati

In 2025, government assessments revealed that nearly 90% of water conservation structures in Vidarbha’s Nagpur and Amravati districts were no longer functional.


A total of 10,000 such structures, 6,500 in Amravati and 3,500 in Nagpur, have deteriorated due to long-term administrative neglect.

These findings, presented by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule at the Vidarbha Pani Parishad, underlined the scale of damage caused by the absence of structural maintenance and oversight.


The technical evaluations exposed several recurring faults. A large number of these structures had missing plugs, leakages on multiple sides, and no history of regular maintenance. What were originally planned as water conservation systems have now become hollow, degraded sites that offer no support to the water needs of the region.


Their failure coincides with a severe drop in groundwater availability. In parts of Katol and Amravati, water levels have reached 800 to 850 feet, with projections warning they may fall further to 1,200 feet if corrective action remains insufficient.


These deteriorations are not new but are part of a longer pattern of infrastructural neglect. The consequences are now visible in the form of recurring water scarcity affecting agriculture and daily life in rural and semi-urban pockets across Vidarbha.

Patterns of Neglect and Fund Diversion


The roots of the current crisis stretch back to well-documented administrative decisions and funding imbalances.


In 2006, a Planning Commission fact-finding team led by Adarsh Mishra observed that funds originally meant for water-related works in Vidarbha were redirected to western Maharashtra.

Their investigation showed that although Vidarbha and Marathwada had allocations in the official budget post-2001-02, actual expenditures were significantly below those allocations. Meanwhile, western regions of Maharashtra recorded spending that often exceeded their sanctioned limits.


This practice occurred through yearly ‘surrenders’, where unspent funds were formally returned and then reallocated in the supplementary budget, bypassing the intended regional focus. This diversion was enabled by the persistent underperformance of the Constitution-mandated Regional Development Board, which failed to ensure the equitable distribution of water infrastructure resources.

These policies had wide-reaching effects on rural populations. The same period saw a sharp increase in farmer suicides in Vidarbha, with over 1,000 deaths between 2001 and 2006.

The Planning Commission linked these deaths to the region’s faltering irrigation systems, which left farmers exposed to the twin risks of crop failure and debt. It noted that the failure to rehabilitate water structures was directly tied to distress migration, a fall in crop yields, and increased financial dependence on high-interest private loans.


Between 2003 and 2015, the region’s water allocation was further redirected, not for agriculture but for industrial use. Data compiled by Greenpeace highlighted that from 2003 to 2011, the state diverted close to 398.87 million cubic metres of water each year from agricultural use to coal-based thermal power plants. This was enough to irrigate approximately 79,774 hectares annually.


The trend continued with the approval of 71 new thermal power projects by December 2010, with a combined projected water requirement of 2,049 million cubic metres per year. This volume could have been used to irrigate around 409,800 hectares of land. However, much of this water was allotted to power companies operating in areas where agriculture was already under stress.


The legal backing for these diversions came through the Maharashtra State Water Policy, in effect until mid-2011, which formally listed industrial use above agricultural use in the priority list for water allocation.

While this helped meet industrial needs, it left large stretches of farmland in Vidarbha dependent on erratic rainfall and damaged irrigation systems.


This alignment of infrastructure failure and policy preference accelerated the decline in water availability for farming communities and created a deeper imbalance in resource distribution between industries and cultivators.


Compounding the infrastructure crisis has been a gradual but sustained decline in dam storage levels across Vidarbha, particularly in the last five years. Data from the Maharashtra Water Resources Department indicates that dam performance has declined year after year, reducing both irrigation capacity and drinking water availability.


In May 2023, live storage in the Nagpur division stood at 42.3%, while Amravati recorded 48.8%. By May 2024, the figures dropped to 38.7% and 39.5%, respectively. In April 2025, there was a marginal rise, 42.2% for Nagpur and 50.6% for Amravati, but this remained well below historical averages.

Individual dams showed sharper declines. The Gosikhurd dam in Bhandara recorded 30.2% storage in April 2025. Dhapewada in Gondia fell to 26.6%, and Nand dam in Nagpur registered only 13.1%. Khadakpurna reservoir serving Buldhana and Jalna had just 4.12% capacity by April 2025, having run dry in mid-2024. Katepurna dam in Akola also saw significant stress, operating at 27.2% of its total capacity.


These reductions align with erratic rainfall trends. While the 2023 Southwest Monsoon delivered 94% of its long-term average, the rainfall was uneven, with long dry periods during peak agricultural seasons. This erratic pattern has disrupted recharge cycles for both surface and groundwater systems.


Declining dam performance increases dependence on already deteriorating water structures, intensifying the pressure on the state to execute its rehabilitation strategy within limited timeframes. The fall in dam levels also affects electricity generation and municipal water supply, adding more layers of stress to the system.

Government Plans and Community Involvement


In light of the recent assessments, the Maharashtra government has launched a repair and restoration campaign targeting all 10,000 damaged structures.


Each site will be geo-tagged to build a centralised digital inventory, allowing better monitoring and scheduled upkeep. This marks a departure from previous manual and inconsistent recordkeeping practices that failed to prevent the infrastructure from slipping into disrepair.


The rehabilitation budget ranges from ₹2 to ₹4 lakh per structure, with some sites undergoing deepening up to 500 metres wherever technically feasible.

This step has been planned to help the sites capture and store more water, especially as rainfall becomes increasingly unpredictable. The project also takes into account the growing rate of evaporation in the region and the need to adapt water storage systems accordingly.

In addition to financial and technical commitments, the state has decided to engage communities in the restoration effort.

The National Service Scheme (NSS) has been tasked with helping identify and revive dead dams through field involvement by student volunteers. Educational institutions are expected to support the mission with data collection, physical surveys, and creating awareness on long-term maintenance practices.


This people-oriented approach has been designed to foster local responsibility. The integration of university departments, NGOs, and volunteers marks an effort to shift water resource management away from purely administrative channels toward models rooted in long-term local participation.


Technological Shifts and Local Models

Technological Shifts and Local Models for water conservation in Vidarbha
Technological Shifts and Local Models

Recent efforts include the adoption of zero discharge systems and recycling-based water management, particularly for industrial operations.


In one key development, Pench water previously lost through distribution inefficiencies was reallocated to Mahagenco. At the same time, the Koradi thermal plant began operating on treated wastewater from Nagpur Municipal Corporation, reducing its use of fresh water.


These changes signal a new approach that blends infrastructure restoration with policy restructuring. The use of treated wastewater for industrial processes represents a strategic shift toward circular water systems. It also opens avenues for preserving freshwater reserves for agriculture.

The Vidarbha Water Conference provided a platform to showcase models that have already shown success in small pockets.


Projects like the solar irrigation system in Muradpur and the Tamaswada model run by Purti Jal Sinchchan Sanstha were presented as examples of effective local management. Washim district’s village development through community labour has also drawn attention.


These case studies have informed the government’s plan to integrate NSS student volunteers in on-ground audits and revival efforts. This model ties institutional capacity with field-level knowledge, ensuring greater continuity and accountability.


The ongoing water conservation infrastructure crisis in Vidarbha reflects an accumulation of policy decisions, neglect, and structural failures that have unfolded over decades.

While recent initiatives have introduced a more systematic and participatory approach to water management, the burden of restoring 10,000 defunct structures remains significant.


The link between past administrative decisions and present-day water scarcity in Nagpur and Amravati is now clear, underscoring the need for continued oversight, funding, and community participation to prevent another cycle of neglect.

References




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