In last few years, Punjab is facing a groundwater crisis, threatening the very sustainability of its civilization. According to the latest report by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), even the last drop of usable groundwater in Punjab shall finish in just 14 years.
The current scientific data shows that Punjab extracts 28 million acre feet (MAF) of water from the womb of mother earth each year while only 17 MAF is replenished through rainfall and the state’s three perennial rivers. This imbalance has led to a dangerous depletion rate of about half a metre per year, bringing Punjab closer to desertification.
Additionally, it is also imperative to note that not only is water depleting at a much faster rate but it is also being extracted from deeper layers of earth, containing dangerous heavy metals and nitrate, making it unfit for use by humans and animals.