Pune: The ongoing conflict over water distribution between Pune city and its surrounding rural areas is expected to come to an end with the state government's approval of the Khadakwasla-Phursungi tunnel project.

This new closed-pipeline project aims to prevent the waste and theft of water that was previously a significant issue when transporting water through open canals.

The Khadakwasla dam cluster, which has a total water storage capacity of 31 TMC and a usable capacity of 29.15 TMC, supplies water to Pune city for drinking and other purposes.

However, transporting this water to the farmers in Haveli, Daund, and Indapur talukas often resulted in significant water losses. The new project will ensure that this water can be effectively utilized for agricultural purposes, preventing the waste of 2.5 TMC of water that was previously lost.

Farmers in the affected talukas have welcomed the project, which is expected to have a multi-dimensional impact on both Pune city and rural farmers.

In the past, disputes over water from the Khadakwasla project led to intense discussions in the Canal Advisory Committee meetings, with the Executive Engineer often facing public anger. The project will also free up land worth ₹12,000 crore in urban areas, which can now be used for other public works.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis played a key role in securing the approval for this project, which took almost a year to gain approval.

The project is expected to take another three years to complete, though farmers are hopeful that the administration will take necessary precautions to ensure the project is completed on time.

Daund MLA Rahul Kul expressed satisfaction with the project's approval and noted that efforts are underway to plan for the next 100 years of water usage by diverting water from the Mulshi dam eastward.