As Maharashtra grapples with an escalating drought situation, the Pune district administration has officially marked 11 talukas in Pune district as 'drought-prone.'
Out of the 13 talukas in Pune district, namely Baramati, Junnar, Purandar, Ambegaon, Khed, Maval, Velhe, Mulshi, Bhor, Haveli, Indapur, Daund, and Shirur, only Mulshi and Velhe have been excluded from the drought-prone designation. Among the declared drought-prone talukas, Baramati and Purandar are categorised as fully drought-prone, while Indapur, Shirur, and Daund are designated as partially drought-prone according to central government criteria.
Pune District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh explained, “The state government has included revenue boards in all other talukas except Mulshi and Velhe in the drought list of 31 revenue boards in the district. Therefore, 11 talukas of the district have been declared drought-prone.”
Villages experiencing less than 75% rainfall have been included in the drought-prone classification.