Model Answer

Groundwater is a crucial source of irrigation and rural livelihoods in India. However, intensive extraction, particularly in agriculturally prosperous regions such as Punjab, is causing rapidly declining water tables and threatening long-term agricultural sustainability.

Causes of Groundwater Depletion

1. Water-intensive crops create demand beyond natural recharge. e.g: Rice-wheat cultivation dominates large parts of Punjab.
2. Assured procurement encourages farmers to continue cultivating water-intensive crops such as paddy.
3. Power subsidies reduce the direct cost of pumping groundwater, encouraging excessive extraction.
4. Tube-well dependence has increased with intensive irrigated agriculture.
5. Low water-use efficiency results from conventional flood irrigation practices.
6. Climate variability affects rainfall and groundwater recharge.

Major Concerns

1. Falling water tables increase the depth from which farmers must pump water. e.g: Punjab’s groundwater extraction rate is around 152%.
2. Rising cultivation costs disproportionately affect small farmers who cannot afford deeper borewells.
3. Agricultural sustainability is threatened as groundwater reserves become increasingly stressed.
4. Energy consumption rises as deeper groundwater requires greater pumping.
5. Rural inequality can increase as wealthier farmers are better able to invest in deeper wells and irrigation infrastructure.

Way Forward

1. Promote crop diversification towards pulses, oilseeds, maize and horticulture with assured markets.
2. Expand efficient irrigation. e.g: PMKSY–Per Drop More Crop and Direct Seeded Rice.
3. Align procurement and agricultural incentives with local water availability.
4. Promote groundwater recharge through rainwater harvesting and watershed management.

Groundwater conservation cannot succeed through extraction controls alone. India must align cropping patterns, agricultural incentives and irrigation practices with the ecological limits of its groundwater resources.