High Court notice on depleting groundwater in Punjab

Chandigarh, February 6

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice of motion on a petition claiming that Punjab was staring at an “impending groundwater crisis”.

Appearing in person before the Bench of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji, Dhruv Chawla quoted the report to say it indicated groundwater extraction had already reached 150-200 m in most places in central Punjab, while sounding the alarm for a potential drop below 300 m by 2039, as projected by the Central Groundwater Board.

He added the Punjab Water Regulation and Authority, issued the Punjab Groundwater Extraction and Conservation Directions, 2023, on January 27, 2023. But he argued the notification was “absolutely meritless in achieving its main objective”.

It was issued in contravention of the provisions of the Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Act 2020, as it failed to address key concerns raised by stakeholders. The case will now come up for further hearing on March 14.