A twin crisis: Punjab aquifers are failing & water turning toxic

THE latest Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) finding that Punjab leads the country with 156.36 per cent groundwater extraction underscores how dangerously overexploited the state’s aquifers have become. Yet, that is only part of the tragedy. The CGWB ‘Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2025’ reveals that 62.5 per cent of the tested groundwater samples in Punjab exceed safe limits for uranium. Over-extraction and contamination are intimately linked. Excessive groundwater withdrawal lowers water tables, forcing deeper borewells that draw water from geologically unstable, mineral-rich strata, often laden with uranium, arsenic, nitrates or salinity. Simultaneously, decades of intensive agriculture — heavy irrigation to sustain water-intensive crops, combined with chemical fertiliser use — have accelerated leaching of contaminants into both groundwater and soils.