Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday, 12 June directed that all rural water supply schemes across the state be gradually converted to solar energy, citing mounting unpaid electricity bills that are threatening the operational continuity of schemes serving millions of rural households. The directive came during a high-level departmental review meeting in Mumbai.

Solar Policy and Key Directives

Fadnavis instructed the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) to formulate a comprehensive solar energy policy covering all rural water supply schemes. The policy is to factor in the water source type, number of beneficiaries, motor pump capacity, and total electricity units consumed by each scheme.

He was unequivocal on one point: no water supply scheme in Maharashtra should be shut down due to unpaid electricity bills. All schemes must also conform to the Central Government norm of 55 litres of water per person per day.

Taluka-Level Maintenance Units

The Chief Minister directed the creation of taluka-level repair and maintenance units for both regional and independent rural water supply schemes. Gram Panchayats are to be integrated into these units, with maintenance costs to be met through water tax collections. In areas where water tax recovery is poor, funds are to be drawn from local self-government institutions.

A panel of agencies is also to be prepared at the taluka level for maintenance work. Agencies from this panel will be engaged based on resolutions passed by Gram Sabhas, ensuring no scheme becomes defunct due to a lack of repairs.

Sustainable Water Sources and Existing Funds

Fadnavis stressed that rural water sources must be made sustainable so that new sources do not need to be identified repeatedly — a cycle he said diminishes the value of past investments. He pointed to the VBG Ramji Scheme as an existing funding avenue to reinforce current water sources, and directed that these resources be actively utilised.

Jal Jeevan Mission and Restoration Schemes

On restoration and reconnection, the Chief Minister directed that schemes with more than 50 per cent work completed be allocated funds for immediate completion. He also instructed that all schemes declared 100 per cent complete under the Jal Jeevan Mission be independently verified.

Notably, solar systems have already been incorporated into the original estimates of 11,643 schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Across Maharashtra, solar systems have been proposed for 22,185 water supply schemes in total — signalling that the solar transition is already underway at scale, even as the policy framework catches up.

With the policy mandate now formalised at the highest level, the pace of Maharashtra's rural solar water transition will depend on how quickly MEDA can deliver a workable framework and how effectively taluka-level units are operationalised on the ground.