Punjab's Groundwater Levels Stabilize: 84% Canal Water Now Used for Agriculture

Chandigarh: The main goal of the Punjab government, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is to provide canal water to every farm. The government has achieved remarkable success in this area. The recently released report from the Central Ground Water Board (2024) indicates that the declining groundwater levels in Punjab, which have been a concern for years, have now stabilized. The measures taken by the Punjab government, particularly the promotion of canal water use, have played a major role in this achievement, along with other factors like the floods in Punjab last year.

It is worth noting that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann stated at the inauguration of the sub-divisional complex in Dirba that 84 percent of canal water is now being used for agriculture, a significant increase from just 21 percent before his government assumed office. This improvement was made possible by the government’s efforts to locate and restore old canals, tributaries, and moghas (small water channels), ensuring their reactivation.

The report is currently being finalized, based on water measurements from 2023. According to the findings, 63 blocks in Punjab have seen the reversal of groundwater drainage, where the yearly decrease in water levels has now ceased. Since 2001-02, groundwater levels in numerous blocks, particularly in the cotton belt, had been continuously declining.

There are approximately 16 blocks in Punjab where the water table has increased by more than 20 percent. Punjab has 153 blocks in total, with groundwater levels measured twice a year. Last year, the annual recharge of groundwater increased from 18.84 billion cubic meters to 19.19 billion cubic meters.

In addition, canal water projects in Punjab are progressing at a fast pace. The foundation stone for the Lift Irrigation Scheme, aimed at providing canal water for irrigation in the semi-hilly Changar area under the Sri Anandpur Sahib assembly constituency, was recently laid. This is the largest scheme of its kind in Punjab to date. The scheme will provide irrigation to 3,300 acres of agricultural land using 10 pump sets, and is expected to be completed in six months. Four deep tubewells in the Changar area, which had been closed for over two decades, have been reactivated, and two new tubewells have been installed.

Additionally, a canal water project was inaugurated in the village of Kalian Wala in Moga district, which will provide water to farmers in the villages of Daulatpura Uncha, Kalian Wala, Pandori Khataria, and Daulatpura Funda. The canal water pipeline, which stretches over 11 kilometers, will supply water to 625 acres of nearby fields.