Maharashtra is moving rapidly toward becoming both drought- and flood-free, with the state government accelerating irrigation projects and planning large-scale floodwater diversion schemes.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said most areas are now well irrigated, with only Akola, Buldhana, and Hingoli districts having pending works, which will be completed soon. Over 13.34 lakh hectares in Vidarbha are currently irrigated, with only 49,000 hectares remaining, and major projects like Jigaon and Gosikhurd are set to boost irrigation capacity significantly. The Wainganga-Nalganga river-linking project, valued at nearly Rs one lakh crore, will bring 4.04 lakh hectares under irrigation, while additional schemes aim to divert 30–55 TMC floodwater from Kolhapur, Sangli, and other areas to drought-prone regions.

“Over 100 TMC water is wasted every year due to floods… Through this project, at least 30 to 35 TMC can be diverted,”  CM Fadnavis noted. With approvals for major projects progressing and DPRs being finalised, Maharashtra expects to transform deficit regions into green belts within the next few years.