The state government said it was assessing the situation and will likely declare drought in the worst-hit villages by the end of this month.
Water is scarce in at least 20,000 of the state’s 40,559 villages across 201 tehsils as they received less than 75% of the average required rainfall.
The state government said it was assessing the situation in all these villages and is in the process of declaring drought, which may take around two weeks.
“I have asked the ministers to visit all tehsils affected by water scarcity,” Fadnavis told reporters at Mantralaya, the state headquarters, after the meeting of council of ministers.
“Each minister may have to visit three or four tehsils and submit reports to the state government.
Patil said the government’s initial estimate of the number of affected villages stands at 100 villages from each of the 201 tehsils.
“We will declare a drought-like situation in the next eight days in the affected areas so relief measures can be started.
The last time the state faced a similar water scarcity was in 2016, when 28,662 of the 40,559 villages (around 70%) were declared drought-hit.
This time, 12 districts in Marathwada and north Maharashtra are faced with drought.
Currently, 354 tankers have been deployed to supply water to affected areas.