Department of Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, Government of Maharashtra

The Arabian Sea keeps Maharashtra on alert. Each monsoon brings rain and risk. After the Irshalwadi landslide in 2023, the state changed course: respond, but also mitigate.

The Mitigation Project by Department of Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, Maharashtra splits work into two tracks—Konkan and the rest of Maharashtra. On the coast, the plan funds 121 multi-purpose cyclone shelters, anti-erosion bunds, saline embankments, landslide measures and underground cabling. In total, 288 works worth ₹3,191 crore target about 1.6 crore people. Inland, the focus is on flood control, drainage, culverts and slope stabilisation—about 1,380 works near ₹1,900 crore for 11.5 crore residents. The goal is simple: fewer disruptions when the weather turns.

Project flow is clear. District Disaster Management Authorities send proposals from the ground. A technical Appraisal Committee (TAC) checks feasibility and designs. A Project Approval Committee (PAC) looks at scope and cost. Public Works Department executes. This sequence reduces guesswork and keeps decisions evidence based. It also follows the Sendai Framework idea of preventing losses, not just cleaning up after them.

Irshalwadi pushed the state to run a landslide susceptibility and risk assessment and draft a Landslide Management Plan 2024. Villages are mapped. Standard designs are listed. Priority sites are named. Many jobs have already started: bunds are laid, slopes fixed with geogrids and cables moved underground so power lines don’t fail in high wind.

The plan is also honest about gaps. Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability (HRVA) baselines need more detail. Damage-and-loss records are uneven. Non-structural work—like enforcing building codes, guiding land use and running public drills—must grow along with concrete and steel. The document turns these gaps into tasks, not excuses.

In disaster work, response is visible. Mitigation is not. A good year will look quiet: water stays behind embankments, slopes hold, lines stay up and shelters stand ready but mostly empty. That is the point. Maharashtra is trying to remove surprises before the rain arrives—site by site, file by file and season by season.