Sunday

16-02-2025 Vol 19

Punjab’s Groundwater crisis worsens as Farmers continue to Plant Water-Intensive Crops

Punjab’s Groundwater crisis worsens as Farmers continue to Plant Water-Intensive Crops. Despite repeated warnings by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and other research institutions, Punjab’s farmers continue to exploit underground water at an alarming rate. More than five years after the CGWB cautioned that the state could turn into a desert within 25 years, farmers are still drilling deeper borewells instead of adopting water-saving measures.

The government has launched several welfare schemes to motivate farmers to embrace crop diversification, but growers are reluctant to shift away from their water-guzzling wheat and paddy, with the assured MSP being the foremost reason. Against this backdrop of paddy utilising 3,000-5,000 litres of water per kilo as against the mere 500 litres for a kilo in potatoes, relying heavily on these crops is fueling the erosion of Punjab’s groundwater.

Currently, water levels have receded to less than 600 feet at places all over the state. The CGWB report in 2019 had sounded a warning that at present, if the present extraction rate continues, groundwater at 100 metres will be depleted within the next decade and at 300 metres, within 20-25 years. All studies by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), NASA, the National Institute of Hydrology and by IIT Kharagpur have pointed out the non-renewable loss of groundwater. The PAU 28-year study measured an average annual decline of 51 cm. Two years since the Punjab government examined Telangana’s model of groundwater conservation, there has been little effort from farmers to alter their consumption pattern. The 2022 CGWB report reiterates that Punjab is the largest extractor of groundwater in the country, withdrawing 27.64 million acre-feet (MAF) every year against a recharge of only 16.81 MAF. Of 180 blocks, only 18 remain in the safe category, while 10 consume over 300% of their annual recharge.

Initiatives such as drip irrigation, water-efficient crops, and regulations on tubewells have been introduced by the government. The response of the farmers, however, has been lukewarm. Experts are stressing that there is a need for behavioral change, more adoption of canal water, and increased reuse of urban wastewater. However, the Punjab canal irrigation system has not delivered. In fact, tail-end villages of most canals fail to receive water.

Even though the government is increasing the capacity of Sirhind canal to expand from 12,000 cusecs to 15,600 cusecs for the tail-end villages of Abohar, resistance from local quarters is brewing. At Faridkot, protesters Jal Jeevan Bachao Morcha protest concrete canal lining saying it would affect groundwater recharge, thereby exacerbating the crisis. The residents of Macchiwara in Ludhiana fear the canal expansion would leave their green belt bare.

Farmers, instead of accepting the seriousness of the crisis, are continuing to rely on depleting water reserves. Lacchman Singh, a 100-year-old farmer from Jandwala, Fazilka, said, “Water has been one of the biggest reasons for fights among farmers. I fear worrying times ahead.” With little willingness to change, Punjab’s groundwater is vanishing fast, bringing the state closer to an irreversible disaster.

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