New tubewells on hold as water table dips sharply

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 6

The Congress government has put on hold the release of tubewell connections to agricultural consumers, citing a sharp fall in the groundwater level across the state. The decision will affect about 1.5 lakh farmers/landowners, who had been given assurance letters by the previous government for new connections in 2016.

Power Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar told The Tribune, “Issuing new connections would be detrimental to saving groundwater. We have decided that no new AP (agricultural pumpset) connection is to be released, including those to be given to the ruling party’s workers in the discretionary quota.”

Studies show that of the 138 development blocks assessed for the estimation of groundwater, 110 were found overexploited. The net annual groundwater availability in Punjab had fallen to (-)12.02 million acre ft (MAF) in 2011, as compared to 0.84 MAF in 1992. A major reason for the fast-depleting water table is believed to be free electricity given to agricultural consumers.

Studies by Ranjit Singh Ghuman, a noted agriculture economist, have shown that the state can save Rs 40,000 million in 2017-18 if free power was restricted up to landholdings of 7.5 acres.

Free power was introduced in February 1997. It continued till October 2002 before being withdrawn. It was restored in September 2005. Officials said only 50,000 consumers, who were issued demand notices and had deposited money with the PSPCL, would be given connections for now. “These consumers will get connections in the next two to three months. For the rest, who got letters from the previous government as a pre-poll sop, we will frame a new policy,” said Kangar.