Punjab groundwater crisis
Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 1 "Natural Resources and Their Use"
Meaning
The Punjab groundwater crisis is the steep fall of Punjab's groundwater since the Green Revolution. Groundwater is water stored underground in soil and rock layers called aquifers. From the 1960s, HYV (high-yielding variety) wheat and paddy needed much more water. Free electricity for farms led farmers to pump far more than rain could put back. Pesticides and fertilisers also seeped into the aquifers. The result is falling water tables, costlier pumping, failing wells and dirtier water. All of this puts India's food supply at risk.
Example
The 2024 assessment put Punjab's stage of extraction at about 156%. This means it pumps out more than one and a half times what is recharged (refilled) each year. About three-quarters of its blocks were over-exploited (verify current). A June 2022 map showed water deeper than about 30 m across a large part of the state.
Don't confuse with
- Arsenic contamination: this is about water quality, not quantity. The arsenic is natural and comes from young alluvial soils in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Punjab's main problem is that the water is running out.