The Maharashtra Cabinet on Friday decided to go in for cloud seeding in seven districts for artificial rainfall.

The move comes after the success of a similar exercise in neighbouring Karnataka.

The programme will be implemented from September, and Solapur, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Beed and Osmanabad districts will benefit from it, Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the media in Mumbai.

The total cost for the project, to be implemented by US-based Weather Modification Company, is around Rs 4.5 crore, Shinde said.

Meteorologists of the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) have stated that rain-deficient areas can get 15-24 per cent of average rainfall by cloud seeding.

After a careful study of the clouds, they are sprinkled with sodium chloride and silver iodide, which help in the liquification of humidity.

Asked why the decision was taken when the monsoon was coming to an end, he said, "We were waiting for the rainfall. After it became clear that we would not get rains we decided to go in for cloud seeding."