No tubewells on agricultural land acquired for other purposes: Punjab CM

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday ordered disconnection of tubewells located on agricultural plots that have been acquired and used for farm houses or development of colonies.
Presently Punjab has 14.3 lakh tube well connections in operation which are drawing 35.78 billion cubic metre water annually. As per Punjab Agriculture University(PAU), there are nearly 17 lakh farmer families in Punjab and already over 14 lakh tube wells are in operation (many families have more than 1 connection) and the further releasing of tube well connections will drastically increase the extraction of underground water which will further deplete the water table.
An official spokesperson said the decision is aimed at conservation of water resource, of which Punjab is facing growing scarcity. Amarinder has directed the secretary water resources to identify such properties and make a list of the tubewell connections located on them.
Any agricultural piece of land which is no longer being used for the said purpose and has been acquired for construction of a farm house or for colonization by developers cannot be allowed to use tubewells, he asserted. Continued use of these tubewells would lead to further depletion of the ground water, the levels of which are fast declining in the state, he added.
Meanwhile, canal water is already scarce in Punjab with only 27% irrigation dependent on canal water and 73% on tube wells.