E-Paper
Sahney seeks urgent groundwater revival package
The demand was made after the Union jal shakti ministry, in response to his question in the Rajya Sabha informed that as per the Central Ground Water Board data, while about 57% of monitored wells showed a marginal rise, 42% of wells across Punjab recorded a fall in groundwater levels.
Rajya Sabha member Vikramjit Singh Sahney on Monday expressed serious concern over the alarming depletion of groundwater in Punjab, seeking a groundwater revival and crop-diversification package.
Sahney warned that continued policy neglect could push the state towards an irreversible water crisis. The demand was made after the Union jal shakti ministry, in response to his question in the Rajya Sabha informed that as per the Central Ground Water Board data, while about 57% of monitored wells showed a marginal rise, 42% of wells across Punjab recorded a fall in groundwater levels.
The MP said that the survey of these wells was done post-monsoon 2025, when Punjab witnessed the worst floods in its modern history.
“It is alarming to note that 9% of wells across the state have groundwater deeper than 40 metres, with agriculturally crucial districts such as Sangrur, Barnala, Patiala, Moga and Malerkotla showing extreme stress. In urban districts such as Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Bathinda, a majority of wells now fall in the 10–40 metre depth category, underscoring the unsustainable exploitation of groundwater,” he said in a statement.
Sahney said it is deeply distressing that despite such stark evidence of groundwater stress, the state was not included under the Atal Bhujal Yojana, a flagship programme designed for water-stressed regions.
