Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharati has blamed the previous Congress-led governments at the Centre and state for the acute water scarcity situation in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. <br/><br/>Speaking to reporters in Nagpur yesterday, after a review meeting focused on acute drought in Latur and other districts of Marathwada region, she said that the previous Congress-ruled Governments did precious little to even change crop patterns despite warnings by the Union Government in the past.<br/><br/>The Union Minister said concerned officials have been instructed to prepare a contingency plan for Latur within a week based on the water table and other relevant data of Marathwada to find new water sources. Rain harvesting and conservation measures, deepening and desilting of Majra reservoir of Latur were also discussed, she said.<br/><br/>Ms. Bharati said that her ministry was also examining prospects of replicating successful water conservation projects like Hivre Bazar and Ralegan Siddhi in all drought-prone zones across the country. Mentioning that seven states, including Maharashtra, are facing severe drinking water crisis this year, she further said that there is an urgent need for stricter regulation of water usage. She hinted that a new law would also be introduced to enforce zero discharge by polluting industries to protect rivers and also for recycling of municipal waste water.<br/><br/>The Centre has taken up river linking project involving 31 rivers so that water is better distributed and floods are avoided, she added and hoped to overcome legal hurdles faced by the project.