‘Punjab faces annual groundwater shortfall of nearly 10 million acre-feet’
The high-level workshop, chaired by Dr Sukhpal Singh, Chairman of PSFC, who emphasised the need for urgent, science-based interventions
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The primary culprit: intensive water use for paddy cultivation (Express File/Harmeet Sodhi)As Punjab teeters on the brink of a severe water crisis, the Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission (PSFC) organised a crucial two-day workshop on June 12–13 at Mohali to deliberate on the state’s looming hydrogeological challenges and sustainable groundwater management solutions.
The first day featured intensive discussions on Punjab’s pressing hydrological concerns. Dr J P Singh and Dr Samanpreet Kaur from Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) Ludhiana, presented an analysis of groundwater depletion, recharge inefficiencies, and water-logging. She highlighted the need for developing smart submersible pump systems tailored to Punjab’s context, empowering farmers with real-time data to use groundwater judiciously.
She also stressed the urgency of finalising and scaling up rainwater harvesting modules developed at the PAU. The meeting also focused on salinity, sodality, and water contamination, with scientists calling for comprehensive studies ranging from the use of abandoned wells and village ponds to agro-ecological zoning.
Experts from Panjab University, including Dr J S Sehrawat, Dr Mahesh Thakur, and research fellows Prakash Tiwari and Jugraj Singh, presented alarming data on the presence of hazardous contaminants such as uranium and arsenic, particularly in southwest Punjab. Their findings emphasised the need for district-wise spatial mapping, groundwater vulnerability assessments, and in-depth soil and water quality analysis.
On the second day, officers from the Hydro-Geological Wing of the Directorate of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare presented a stark picture of Punjab’s groundwater condition. The state now faces an annual groundwater shortfall of nearly 10 million acre-feet (MAF), a trajectory deemed unsustainable and dangerous for Punjab’s agricultural future. The primary culprit: intensive water use for paddy cultivation.
The high-level workshop, chaired by Dr Sukhpal Singh, Chairman of PSFC, who emphasised the need for urgent, science-based interventions and announced the establishment of a Data Centre at PSFC to centralise and disseminate authenticated agricultural and hydrological data to policymakers, researchers, and farmers alike.
Dr Gurkanwal Singh, former director of horticulture, called for a multidisciplinary alliance among scientists, policy leaders. Among others who were present included Dr R S Bains, administrative officer-cum-secretary, PSFC.
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