Punjab most groundwater-stressed state, Rajasthan and Haryana follow: Centre

The minister informed the Upper House that Punjab is extracting groundwater at a rate far exceeding its natural annual recharge capacity.

The CGWB report estimates Punjab’s annual total groundwater recharge at 18.60 billion cubic metres, while the safely extractable groundwater is only 16.80 billion cubic metres. In contrast, the state is currently extracting around 26.27 billion cubic metres of groundwater annually for irrigation, domestic, and industrial use.

Due to the cultivation of water-intensive crops such as paddy and excessive dependence on tube wells, groundwater levels in many areas are declining by more than half a metre every year, the report elucidates.

As per information provided in the Rajya Sabha, under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan 2025, 20 districts of Punjab have been included on the priority list. Over the past four years, more than 61,500 groundwater recharge and water conservation structures were constructed in the state. Additionally, it has been recommended to build nearly 1.1 million recharge structures in Punjab to help conserve approximately 1,200 million cubic metres of rainwater annually.

Seechewal said, “Saving water is the greatest duty and a collective responsibility to save Punjab. If serious measures are not taken even now, the water situation in the state can become even more alarming. Therefore, every section of society must come forward for water conservation.”