E-Paper
Punjab wraps up water reforms assessment, awaits budget inputs
The exercise is aimed at identifying gaps and aligning Punjab’s water governance systems with the national benchmarks
Punjab has completed its assessment against the Centre’s newly introduced State Water Reforms Framework (SWRF) and is now awaiting budgetary inputs from a few departments before submitting its final report to the Union ministry of jal shakti by August 31.
The SWRF — launched by the Union ministry of jal shakti in May this year — addresses groundwater depletion, data gaps and service delivery by grading states and Union territories on 75 binary indicators.
It covers five broad areas — policy and regulation, project monitoring, digitalisation and research and development, infrastructure, and community engagement.
State nodal officer-cum-chief engineer, water resources department, Punjab, Sukhjit Singh Bhullar, said the state had completed work on the 75 indicators and was now waiting for budgetary reports from some departments. “We have finalised everything and complied with the 75 indicators. We are awaiting budgetary reports from some departments and will send the report to the ministry by August 31,” he said.
Bhullar added that any requirement for policy intervention would be communicated by the ministry after scrutiny of the state’s submission.
The state’s assessment has covered its existing water-data portals, groundwater indicators, monitoring mechanisms and infrastructure, with the exercise aimed at identifying gaps and aligning Punjab’s water governance systems with the national benchmarks.
The framework requires states and Union territories to undertake key, measurable reforms by December 31, 2026, and submit their responses against the indicators by January 31, 2027. The Centre has said the framework is intended to promote evidence-based reforms in areas including groundwater regulation, floodplain zoning, wastewater reuse, dam safety, participatory irrigation management, river-basin planning, data integration and institutional strengthening.
Against this backdrop, Punjab is currently implementing its 14-point water conservation and management strategy, with a focus on modernising the canal network, reviving thousands of kilometres of abandoned watercourses and promoting rainwater recharge through mandatory recharge wells in new urban constructions.
The state is also stepping up efforts to increase the availability of canal water in tail-end agricultural areas, particularly in groundwater-stressed and over-exploited blocks. The strategy seeks to reduce excessive dependence on groundwater by improving the distribution and use of surface water for irrigation.
The SWRF also seeks to encourage states to benchmark their performance against one another and adopt best practices, combining cooperative federalism with competitive benchmarking to accelerate water-sector reforms.
With Punjab already working on several water-conservation measures, officials say the framework could provide an additional institutional push to integrate groundwater management, irrigation reforms, digital monitoring and community participation into a more comprehensive water-security strategy.
