What is the report from two decades ago?

According to Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) officials, the study was titled ‘The State of the World Report, 1998′, published by Washington-based World Watch Institute (WWI). It said Punjab’s aquifers could be depleted by 2025.

According to the state’s own report on the underground water situation, there is over-exploitation of groundwater to meet the agriculture requirements of the state. It says that about 79 percent area of the state is over-exploited. Of 138 blocks, 109 blocks are “over-exploited”, two blocks are “critical” five blocks are “semi-critical” while only 22 blocks are in “safe” category.

The agriculture tube wells are a major factor. While groundwater is being over-exploited to meet the ever-increasing demands of water for diverse purposes — intensive irrigation, drinking, industry, power generation — tube wells get the blame for the situation. At the time of the introduction of the Green Revolution in the mid-sixties, the number of tube wells increased from 50,000 to above 70,000 in the early eighties. It went up to about 10.70 lakh in 2001 and then 11.80 lakh in the year 2005-06. In the year 2012-13, there were approximately 12 lakh tube wells according to the 5th Minor Irrigation Census Report. The state now puts the number at 14 lakh.

When groundwater resources likely to be used up in Punjab?

As per a government report, groundwater resources are likely to be used up by the year 2039. Thereafter, only annual replenishable resources will be available. On average, there are 34 tube wells per sq. km of net sown area in Punjab. The state policy of free power for agriculture in combination with central policy favorable to paddy cultivation has ended up in indiscriminate use of groundwater. The situation has reached a critical stage and a shift from existing practices is necessary to ensure that the next generation has adequate natural resources for its use. Experts suggest a dire need to diversify.

The agriculture tube wells are a major factor. While groundwater is being over-exploited to meet the ever-increasing demands of water for diverse purposes — intensive irrigation, drinking, industry, power generation — tube wells get the blame for the situation. At the time of the introduction of the Green Revolution in the mid-sixties, the number of tube wells increased from 50,000 to above 70,000 in the early eighties. It went up to about 10.70 lakh in 2001 and then 11.80 lakh in the year 2005-06. In the year 2012-13, there were approximately 12 lakh tube wells according to the 5th Minor Irrigation Census Report. The state now puts the number at 14 lakh.

Nature of Groundwater Depletion

• India is the world’s largest user of groundwater, where groundwater contributes to more than 60% of the country’s irrigation resources.
• In India nearly 2/3rd net sown area is rain-fed. Therefore, in order to provide farmers with adequate irrigation facilities, the government provides power to the agriculture sector at highly subsidised rates. This accounts for the over-extraction of groundwater.
• Also, investment in canal networks has been long-neglected. It has led to over-exploitation and fast-depleting water tables.
• This over-extraction of groundwater is non-renewable since recharge rates are less than extraction rates and replenishing this resource can take thousands of years.
• Moreover, as climate change alters the monsoon, the large stresses on India’s groundwater resources may increase.
• The decision to focus on the groundwater crisis is significant because its over-exploitation is contributing to — as stated by NITI Aayog —“the worst water crisis” in India’s history.

Where in Punjab groundwater situation is grim?

Nearly 50-60 percent of the groundwater up to 60 meters depth in the state is fresh and fit and generally found in the northern, northeastern and central parts of the state comprising Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Mohali districts. Nearly 20-30 percent of the groundwater generally found in northwestern and central parts comprising Tarn Taran, Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, and Moga is moderately saline and of marginal quality. Around 15-25% of the groundwater is saline/alkaline and not fit for irrigation use and is generally found in isolated patches in southern and southwestern parts in Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa, and Sangrur. The water levels have gone down in most parts of the state. The average yearly rate of fall in water levels, in the areas of significant fall in water level (more than 5 m) was worked out to be approximately 0.49 m per year. Districts like Barnala, Bathinda, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Moga, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala, and Sangrur are worst affected. Moreover, taking the entire area of fall in water level into consideration, the average yearly rate of fall is worked out to be approximately 0.37 m every year for this area.

Lowering of water table coupled with the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides is causing water quality deterioration in surface and groundwater resources. Groundwater at shallow depth is largely contaminated due to surface water pollution.

Who had started the Atal bhujal Yojana?

It is a World Bank-funded, central sector scheme aimed at improving groundwater management and restoring the health of the country’s aquifers. It seeks to strengthen the “institutional framework of administering groundwater resources and aims to bring about behavioural changes at the community level for sustainable groundwater resource management”. The scheme will be implemented in seven states — Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which are over-exploited and water-stressed areas of the country. The Atal Bhujal Yojana seeks to revive village-level Water User Associations (WUAs). The scheme will strengthen the financial state of the WUAs, including allowing these bodies to retain a significant portion of irrigation fees. WUAs are created by Groundwater Management and Regulation Scheme 2013. According to the CWMI, less than 50% of states involve the WUAs in critical groundwater management decisions like those pertaining to irrigation resources.

By emphasising on local-level institutions like the WUAs, the Atal Bhujal Yojana has signalled the inclination towards persuasive solutions. However, a lot more than, than mere persuasion is required. For example: Ways must be found to balance the demands of farmers with the imperatives of reviving the country’s aquifers.

One solution tried out in parts of Punjab, to gradually reduce subsidies and offer cash compensation to farmers for every unit of electricity they save. This can be emulated in other states as well. The CWMI report talks of other solutions like persuading farmers to adopt more efficient technologies such as drip irrigation. The government should promote alternatives to water-intensive crops. For example, Maize requires only one-third of water than paddy. States can draw inspiration from community water management which is followed in Andhra Pradesh which has already shown how aquifer management and sharing of borewells can ensure equitable distribution of water. Finally, there is a need to set up National Water Commission, with multidisciplinary expertise including in hydrology (surface water), hydrogeology (groundwater), meteorology (atmosphere), river ecology, agronomy, environmental economics and participatory resource management.

How to explain the two 25-year predictions?

Experts said the calculation of 25 years was relevant two decades back as well as today.

 

They said water was then available at a depth of 3-10 meters in most of Punjab, barring a few districts where it was up to 20 meters deep. But now it is not available at this depth in 84 per cent of the state, which is a desert-like situation as we can only get water through deep tubewells.

 

In the three decades (1966-67 to 1999) of Green revolution, with paddy area increasing from 2.93 LH to 26.12 LH by 2000, the water table in 73 blocks (53 per cent) of Punjab slid into dark/overexploited zone by 1999, as per a CGWB report. Paddy takes at least 4,000 liters water to grow one kg of rice. The 1998 report estimates that by this calculation, the remaining half of Punjab will also slip into the dark zone in the coming 25 to 27 years if control measures are not taken.

 

“It is true also because in almost two decades from 1999 to 2017, the number of dark/overexploited blocks had increased from 73 to 109. If seven critical and semi-critical blocks are added, the number comes to 116 blocks,”said Dr Rajan Aggarwal, adding that it puts a big question mark on the sustainability of agriculture.

 

“We do not know if in the future, water will be available at 200 meters or 300 meters, because it is in scattered form, not linear. Also, we don’t know what the quality of this water would be,” said Dr. Rajan, adding that like upper aquifers, deeper aquifers can also dry up if extraction is not controlled.

 

In a couple of decades, we have dried up our upper aquifers. This could happen to deep aquifers too, and then Punjab will be like another Rajasthan. It is high time we stop mindless extraction and replenish our water,”.

 

“Farmers must be incentivised to choose cropping patterns that require less water, and go for drip irrigation or other water management mechanisms to save our only available deeper aquifers.