Originally published in Hindustan Times
As a key component of the Green Revolution policy framework, groundwater irrigation played a crucial role in averting the food crises of the late 1960s and prevented the country sliding into a Malthusian trap. Groundwater in Punjab, once a common resource, now exemplifies the “tragedy of the commons”. As per government statistics, nearly 95 percent of the groundwater extracted in the state is used for irrigation. The untargeted free power policy for the agricultural sector has led to unchecked groundwater extraction, causing significant depletion. This depletion threatens communities dependent on this vital resource, turning what was once abundant into a looming scarcity. A comprehensive understanding of the region’s groundwater challenges also necessitates an examination of the legal, institutional and governance dimensions, which are pivotal to its sustainable management.
Water management in India is divided between the State and Union lists: water supplies, irrigation, and related areas are covered under Entry 17 of the State List, while inter-state rivers fall under Entry 56 of the Union List. The Constitution mandates the equitable and socially just use of natural resources, including groundwater, with minimal environmental harm. The practical importance of groundwater is often neglected by the country’s water laws, as the vast majority of water regulations are geared towards surface water. Enforcing formal groundwater laws has always been problematic due to the vast number of users, monitoring challenges and lack of updated scientific information along with technical and financial constraints.
Under Indian law, groundwater is traditionally linked to land ownership, as established by the Indian Easement Act, 1882, which grants landowners the right to extract unlimited subsoil water. This has led to groundwater being perceived as a private good, despite Indian law not explicitly recognising such ownership rights. However, the Supreme Court of India, in its December 13, 1996 judgment in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath & Ors, endorsed the Public Trust Doctrine, asserting that resources like water should not be subject to private ownership due to their fundamental importance to the public. Currently, statutory provisions for groundwater management in India are limited, as there is no explicit legal framework defining groundwater rights. Instead, groundwater issues are implicitly addressed under the Public Trust Doctrine.Moreover, the responsibility for groundwater legislation falls under the jurisdiction of State governments rather than being governed by Union-level regulations.
The evolution of groundwater governance and management in Punjab reflects a dynamic response to both technological and environmental challenges. The Punjab State Tube-well Act of 1954 established state-managed tube-well irrigation. Despite early success, the 1974 revision introducing an “occupier’s rate” did not address farmers’ dissatisfaction with the efficiency of state tube-wells. Consequently, many state tube-wells became obsolete, leading to a cessation of government investment in this infrastructure. The Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority Act of 1997 sought to improve irrigation management by establishing a dedicated authority to enhance efficiency and transparency. Despite these intentions, the Act struggled with implementation challenges and did not substantially improve irrigation practices or infrastructure, limiting its impact on overall water management.
The Punjab Groundwater (Control and Regulation) Act of 1998 was introduced to control over- extraction of groundwater. However, it faced significant resistance from farmers and failed to gain traction, resulting in limited success in curbing groundwater misuse and failing to address the practical concerns of those affected by the regulations. The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Act of 2009 represented a more direct approach to conserving groundwater by mandating delays in paddy transplanting and offering incentives for adopting water-saving techniques. While it made strides in promoting conservation, its effectiveness has been limited. This was complemented by the Underground Pipelines Act of 2017, which allowed farmers to construct underground irrigation pipelines across landowners’ properties, addressing logistical challenges in water distribution.
More recently, the Punjab Groundwater Extraction and Conservation Directions of 2023 introduced volumetric charges (Agriculture Sector excluded) and conservation credits under the Punjab Water Resources (Management & Regulation) Act of 2020. This policy aims to improve water balance and incentivise conservation, though its effectiveness will depend on how well these measures are enforced and accepted by users. Lastly, the Punjab Canal and Drainage Act of 2023 focuses on formation of water user associations to enhance stakeholder involvement and ownership. This reform aims to foster a collaborative approach to water management, potentially improving the sustainability of irrigation practices through increased community engagement.
To address groundwater depletion in Punjab, policy initiatives have focused on crop diversification and optimising energy consumption. In the 1980s, in response to severe water scarcity, the Punjab government established an expert committee to investigate shifting agricultural practices from rice to alternative crops to preserve the declining water table. Further recommendations were provided by a subsequent committee in 2002 to revitalise agriculture. Despite these efforts, including the 2013-14 Rashtriya Kisan Vikas Yojana, which aimed to promote crop diversification, the implementation of these strategies has faced significant challenges and has been largely ineffective.
The “Pani Bachao Paise Kamao” scheme, launched in 2018, aimed to promote water and energy conservation by transitioning from a duration-based subsidy to a kWh-based unit. Despite its well-defined objectives and design, the scheme encountered challenges with inadequate publicity and uptake, achieving only around 6 percent enrolment among farmers across 14 selected districts. Alongside these efforts, the PM-KUSUM scheme aims to enhance solar energy adoption in agriculture by targeting 30 MW of decentralised solar capacity and deploying 4,500 standalone solar pumps in Punjab. While the initiative holds promise for sustainable energy use, its long-term impact on groundwater conservation will depend on ensuring that access to free solar power does not inadvertently reduce incentives for efficient electricity use. Similarly, the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) by PSPCL enables farmers to upgrade tubewell motors at subsidised rates, but by allowing all farmers to increase motor load, it unintentionally encourages higher groundwater extraction, impacting groundwater management efforts.
Groundwater governance in Punjab faces substantial challenges due to institutional fragmentation and the overlapping roles of over 15 national and state agencies. The governance framework is further complicated by a multi-layered network of laws and organisations, which hinders effective enforcement, especially given the limited resources available to state authorities. Further, rising demand for groundwater from industrial and domestic sectors will exacerbate the challenges of managing this critical resource.
Policy recommendations for Punjab stress the importance of adopting a community-centered approach that emphasises cooperative groundwater management to foster mutual benefits and build farmers’ confidence in policy mechanisms. It is essential to synchronise and strengthen coordination among institutions, policies, markets, and regulatory measures at both national and local levels. An integrated policy framework is required, addressing groundwater management from multiple perspectives: demand (e.g., crop diversification, water auditing), supply (e.g., electricity for tubewells, rainwater harvesting, water efficient irrigation technologies and climate smart practices), and regulation (e.g., financial incentives to conserve water and energy). Finally, harnessing real-time data on groundwater usage, the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources and the number of dry wells is crucial for crafting a practical and impactful groundwater management and governance policy.
Deepratan Singh and Anmol Rattan Singh