Maharashtra orders a minimum 10% water cut from 16 October; drinking water stays first

On Monday, 5 October 2026, Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan directed a minimum 10% cut in water supply from 16 October. All India Radio, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, The Economic Times and Lokmat report that direction. This note is NP NOW. The direction, the priority and the reservoir rules below are verified as those reports give them.

The outlets do not use one list of who is covered. The Indian Express, The Economic Times and Lokmat say the cut covers municipal corporations, municipalities and gram panchayats. All India Radio's headline, and Hindustan Times's headline, say urban local bodies. Hindustan Times's own body also lists gram panchayats. This note prints both accounts. It does not choose between them.

The stated reasons are a deficient monsoon, limited stocks, and El Niño possibly continuing into next year. Those reasons are as the reports give them. This note does not add a forecast.

Drinking water comes first, then livestock and fodder, then irrigation. There is a dam-wise plan to 31 August 2027. Each reservoir is to keep a 10% emergency buffer. Dead storage is to be used only in extreme cases, and only after an assessment.

Local bodies are to run drives against leaks, run sewage treatment plants at full capacity, and use treated water for non-potable uses, including gardening, construction and washing. Industries are to reuse or recycle at least 30% of the water they use. Joint teams of the Revenue, Police and Water Resources departments are to act against unauthorised withdrawal.

Hindustan Times reports that drought has been declared in 265 talukas. That figure is not a declaration for the whole state. A separate published note is about that drought declaration: Maharashtra declares drought in 265 of 358 talukas. This note is only the 16 October cut. It does not retell the drought measures.

The order does not set city-wise cut hours. It does not say drinking water will be cut off. Supply hours or pressure may change. The schedule to check, before 16 October, is the one from the local body.

Neutral Politics re-checked these five outlets on 7 October 2026, at about 8:10 am IST. The points above were still as they report them, and city-wise hours were still not in the order. This note was posted at 8:07 am IST.

The cover is a Neutral Politics reservoir schematic. It is not a photograph of any person.

What's next

Whether a local body publishes its own hours, and whether the outlets later use one list of who is covered, is not in this order.