The Maharashtra government has decided to approach the centre to ensure that the Karnataka government does not store water over the level of 509 metres in the Almatty dam.

"We have decided to intimate the state government's stance on the issue to the centre and urge it to ensure that not more than 509-metres water is stored in the dam, pending a ruling by the Krishna Water Tribunal," Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told reporters in Mumbai on Thursday after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

As of now, the water level in the Almatty dam is 515 metres, Deshmukh said.

The state government would also urge the centre to provide separate funds for completion of major and medium dams in the catchment areas near major cities to prevent flooding, he said.

Also read:  Patil blames Karnataka for floods

Meanwhile, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde on Thursday said it was not the Almatty dam but the Maharashtra government's decision to release water simultaneously from 8 dams in the region, which had caused floods in the 2 districts.

"Almatty is about 225 km from Sangli. There is a major project called Hipparge dam between Sangli and Almatty. How could the backwaters of Almatty cause floods in the region as claimed by Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil?" Munde asked.