To tackle Punjab’s groundwater crisis, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday gave in-principle approval to the establishment of a Ground Water Authority.
Capt Amarinder, chairing a high-level meeting to review the ground water situation, also initiated the process of implementation of the Centre’s Incentivisation Scheme for Bridging Irrigation Gap (ISBIG).
He gave his concurrence for the state’s share of 40 percent, amounting to Rs 3,448 crore against the total project cost of Rs 8,658 crore for Punjab, while directing the concerned officials to immediately send the state’s concurrence to the Union Ministry of Water Resources.
The Chief Minister also approved the formation of a committee of four secretaries, headed by Additional Chief Secretary Development MP Singh, to make a detailed project for ISBIG. Others committee members are Principal Secretary Irrigation, Principal Secretary Science and Technology, Principal Secretary Rural Development and Panchayats and Principal Secretary Finance.
The Chief Minister expressed serious concern over the ground water situation in Punjab, which has the highest water exploitation rate and the maximum percentage of dark zones in the country.
The state’s water table is declining at an average rate of 1.6 feet per annum, as per available data, which further shows that the numbers of tubewells in the state have increased from two lakhs in 1970-71 to 14.5 lakhs in 2015-16.
Decrease in annual rainfall by 30-40 percent in last three decades has reduced surface water availability and affected the natural recharge to groundwater resources, thereby resulting in more stress on groundwater, whose consumption is also increasing on the domestic and industrial fronts.