Guest Column | Addressing Punjab’s ailing groundwater governance

As a key component of the Green Revolution, groundwater irrigation played a crucial role in averting the food crises of the 1960s. Groundwater in Punjab, once a common resource, now exemplifies the “tragedy of the commons”. According to government data, 95% of the groundwater extracted in the state is used for irrigation. The untargeted free power policy for the farm sector has led to unchecked groundwater extraction, causing significant depletion. An understanding of the groundwater challenges necessitates an examination of the legal, institutional and governance dimensions, pivotal to its 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. The practical importance of groundwater is often neglected by the country’s water laws, as the majority of regulation is 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.

Legal framework

Groundwater is traditionally linked to land ownership, 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, in its December 13, 1996, judgment in the MC 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. At present, statutory provisions for groundwater management are limited, as there is no explicit legal framework defining rights. The responsibility for groundwater legislation falls under the jurisdiction of state governments rather than being governed by Union regulations.

The evolution of groundwater governance and management in Punjab reflects a dynamic response to technological and environmental challenges. The Punjab State Tubewell Act, 1954, established state-managed tubewell irrigation. Despite early success, the 1974 revision introducing an “occupier’s rate” did not address farmers’ dissatisfaction with the efficiency of state tubewells. Consequently, many state tubewells became obsolete, leading to a cessation of government investment in this infrastructure. The Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority Act, 1997, sought to improve management by establishing a dedicated authority but struggled with implementation.

The Punjab Groundwater (Control and Regulation) Act, 1998, was introduced to control overextraction, but it faced resistance from farmers. The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Act, 2009, represented a direct approach by mandating delays in paddy transplanting and offering incentives for water-saving techniques. While it helped promote conservation, its effectiveness has been limited. This was complemented by the Underground Pipelines Act, 2017, which allowed farmers to construct underground pipelines across landowners’ properties, addressing logistical challenges.

The Punjab Groundwater Extraction and Conservation Directions, 2023, introduced volumetric charges (agriculture sector excluded) and conservation credits under the Punjab Water Resources (Management & Regulation) Act, 2020. This policy aims to improve water balance and incentivise conservation, though its effectiveness will depend on enforcement. Lastly, the Punjab Canal and Drainage Act, 2023, focuses on the formation of water user associations to enhance stakeholder involvement.

Policy initiatives

To address groundwater depletion, policy initiatives have focused on crop diversification and optimising energy consumption. In the 1980s, the Punjab government established a committee to investigate shifting agricultural practices from rice to alternative crops to preserve the declining water table. Recommendations were provided by a subsequent committee in 2002 to revitalise agriculture. Despite efforts to promote diversification, implementation has been ineffective.

The Pani Bachao Paise Kamao scheme of 2018 aimed to promote water and energy conservation by transitioning from a duration-based subsidy to a kWh-based unit. With inadequate publicity and uptake, the scheme achieved only 6% enrolment among farmers in 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. 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 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.

Overlapping roles

Groundwater governance in Punjab faces challenges due to institutional fragmentation and the overlapping roles of 15 national and state agencies. This is further complicated by a multi-layered network of laws and organisations, hindering enforcement. The rising demand for groundwater from industrial and domestic sectors will also exacerbate the shortage.

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 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 (electricity for tubewells, rainwater harvesting, water-efficient irrigation technologies and climate smart practices), and regulation (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.

Deepratan Singh is an assistant professor of economics, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Chandigarh; and Anmol R Singh is founder, PANJ Foundation. Views expressed are personal.