The regional administration has submitted a report to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, recommending bringing a ban on sugarcane cultivation in Marathwada region of the state. Sugarcane is grown on about three lakh hectares of land in Marathwada and requires 196 lakh liters of water per hectare.
Nearly 1.5 lakh farmers grow sugarcane here. A pivot to cultivating pulses and dal after the ban using water saved on sugarcane can benefit about 22 lakh farmers. All these compound to the suggestion of banning sugarcane cultivation and sugar mills in the report.