Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan top in groundwater exploitation

Punjab has the highest rate of groundwater extraction in the country followed by Delhi and Rajasthan, Government data has shown. While 79 per cent of the assessment units in Punjab showed annual groundwater extraction to be more than the assessed annual extractable groundwater resources, the rate was 65 per cent in Delhi, 63 per cent in Rajasthan and 61 per cent in Haryana.

Together, the region in north India had one of the highest rates of over-exploitation of groundwater in the country, information placed recently by Union Jal Shakti Ministry in the Rajya Sabha indicated.

Irrigation remained the largest user of groundwater in Punjab at 96 per cent due to large-scale cultivation of paddy in Punjab. For the water-intensive crop, farmers in Punjab depend on groundwater than canal or river water as power supply is cheaper compared to several other states. The extraction of groundwater has been increasing in the state.

According to news reports, the Ministry has constituted a committee under the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) for fresh assessment of dynamic groundwater resources in the country for 2020. The previous assessments were carried out across states and UTs in 2013 and 2017.

The annual groundwater extraction for all uses – agricultural, industrial and domestic – was 249 billion cubic metres, out of which 89 per cent was utilised for irrigation and the remaining 11 per cent for industrial and domestic use.