That sinking feeling

With the runaway success of the green revolution in the 70s,Punjab formed an important part of the countrys food bowl.

With the runaway success of the green revolution in the 70s,Punjab formed an important part of the countrys food bowl. Consider the figures: with a mere1.5 per cent of Indias total geographical area,the state accounts for 22 per cent of the countrys wheat production and 13 per cent of rice and cotton. Nearly 85 per cent of its land is under cultivation.

However,Punjabs contribution to the nations food security is coming at the cost of its natural resources. The land of bountiful rivers and crops is fast heading towards desertification,warn hydrologists. The water table in as much as 79 per cent of Punjab is depleting fast,with 103 out of 141 blocks declared over-exploited (more than 85 per cent exploitation) by the Central Groundwater Board and as many as 12 blocks labelled absolutely dark,where groundwater has completely dried out. The rate of exploitation in several blocks of its central districts of Jalandhar,Moga and Ludhiana ranges between 200 to 250 per cent with Nihalsinghwala block in Moga district being the worst affected at an exploitation rate of 400 per cent.

The first alarm was sounded in July 2007 by the Union Water Resources Ministry which had asked Punjab to adress the impending crisis through a legislation. In August 2009,based on satellite imagery,NASA scientists too warned of a collapse of agricultural output and severe shortage of potable water in Indias bread basket. Led by hydrologist Matt Rodell,who has been tracking the disappearing groundwater in northern India,particularly in Punjab,Haryana and Rajasthan,using twin satellites of GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Change Experiment),scientists,in their report posted on the NASA website in August last year,had warned that beneath northern Indias irrigated fields of wheat,rice and barley…. the groundwater is fast disappearing.

Story continues below this ad

The state brought in a law Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water in 2008 prohibiting farmers from sowing paddy nursery before May 10 and transplanting it before June 10. However,with the number of tubewells growing from 1.2 lakh in 1970s to 12.32 lakh in 2009 and another 52,889 connections released last year,the groundwater decline has reached 50 to 100 cm per annum in the state with the irrigation deficit of 1.36 mham being met from overdrawal of groundwater.

The free power regime is also fuelling indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater. Though the state has started billing farmers this year,it is too little and too late. The farmers will be charged at a heavily discounted rate of 50 bhp per month,one-fifth of the actual cost,and the bills would be collected biannually and reimbursed to them as productivity bonus by the government.

To make matters worse,more and more farmers are replacing centrifugal pumps with submersible ones which are digging deep into its water table. The total number of such pumps has reached nearly 4.5 lakh in the state. In the dark zones of the state,the pumps have gone down to a depth of 450 feet.

The Punjab Directorate of Water Resources which is monitoring all the three zones of the state - Majha,Doaba and Malwa - says 325 out of a total of 551 sites under observation have shown a fall in the water table in the period from June 2008 to June 2009. After every paddy season,the situation gets worse. Nearly 65 per cent of sites in Doaba have shown a decline,63 per cent in Malwa and 47 per cent in Majha. Though some sites have shown improvement,it is very minimal, says K S Takshi,Punjab Director of Water Resources.

Story continues below this ad

Former Chief Conservator of Soils and Water,Punjab,A K Sondhi attributes this to demand-availability deficit. Against a demand of 4.40 million hectares metre (mhm) that is one million hectares of land covered with water one metre deep the deficit in Punjab is 1.36 mhm. This deficit is being met by groundwater. In the central part of Punjab,the water table was at 15 feet in 1964. With the green revolution,it started declining. During 1993 to 2003,the average fall in water table in Punjab was 2 feet per year. Now,out of 70 blocks,water table in 40 blocks has gone down below 50 feet. The worst-affected districts are Sangrur and Moga where the water table is below 50 feet in 12 out of 13 and four out of five blocks respectively he says.

It is projected that by 2023,the water table in central Punjab will be below 70 feet in 66 per cent of the area,and below 100 feet in 34 per cent area. The area with water table below 70 feet depth will be 100 per cent in Moga and Sangrur,80 per cent in Patiala,70 per cent in Ludhiana and 60 per cent in Jalandhar and Kapurthala,Sondhi adds.

Whats more worrying,says the Punjab Farmers Commission,is that the damage from submersible pumps cannot be undone even by rains. Rain water can recharge groundwater up to 80-90 feet. So pumps going up to 300-400 feet are drawing from reserves which are being exhausted without any scope for replacement, says the commissions consultant,Dr PS Rangi.

The measures,say experts,have to be drastic. The Central Groundwater Board had recommended a blanket ban on tubewells. Nearly one million hectares area should be diversified from water-intensive paddy to horticulture,cash crops such as sugarcane,maize and oilseeds and farmers should be encouraged through support for their marketing,as in the case of wheat and paddy. Promotion of micro irrigation,rainwater harvesting,community water storage tanks,solar pumps,laser levelling,lift irrigation,village ponds and utilisation of treated water for irrigation are measures proposed for next 10 years, adds Sondhi.

Story continues below this ad

The Farmers Commission sees delaying paddy transplantation beyond June 10 and promoting paddy varieties which require lesser groundwater as a way out. However,the states woes go beyond paddy. The decline in annual rainfall in the state is equally alarming. The average annual rainfall in Punjab has plummeted to 418.3 mm in 2006 from 739 mm in 1980.