Maharashtra to set up its own weather data collection system

PUNE: In its bid to find more reliable weather data, the Maharashtra government has decided to take help of private players to source accurate data for issuing agricultural advisories to the farmers.

Private weather company Skymet has been appointed as the adviser for a Rs 100 crore project in which 2100 automatic weather stations will be set up in the state in next 1.5 years.

Maharashtra agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said at a press conference today, ""The project will be implemented in a public-private partnership mode. We may get access to even the weather data of international agencies. This will help us get more accurate data about local weather and generate better agro-advisories.""

The private player will be selected through tendering process for setting up the automatic weather stations (AWS). The AWS will give information about 10 weather parameters which includes, rainfall, humidity, evapo-transpiration, air pressure, wind velocity, wind direction, solar radiation, soil temperature and leaf wetness. In the PPP, the ratio of private and government investment will be 60:40 respectively.

The government will also make available public land for setting up the AWS. The private agency will provide data free of cost to the agriculture department for a period of ten years. It will also be able to sell its data to whoever it wants. One AWS will be set up for one revenue circle each which consists of about 20 to 25 villages.