The over‑extraction is driven primarily by irrigation for rice and wheat, which together consume nearly 25 billion cubic metres of groundwater each year, a volume sustained by assured procurement, subsidised electricity and easy access to aquifers.
Post‑monsoon monitoring reveals that the proportion of observation wells with water levels below 40 metres deepened by two percentage points between 2022 and 2025, indicating a steady decline in the water table across the state.
Research published in the Economic and Political Weekly notes that while marginal farmers tend to use water more efficiently, wealthier landowners can afford deeper tube wells and pump larger volumes, forcing smaller growers to buy water and widening the intra‑state wealth gap.
A complementary study in Discover Sustainability found that larger farms in Sangrur and Barnala earn higher returns but exhibit lower groundwater productivity per hectare for paddy, underscoring how rising irrigation costs privilege those with better access to finance.
State‑level interventions have trimmed the number of over‑exploited blocks by five over the last two assessment cycles, yet the overall scale of extraction continues to outpace efficiency gains.
The government’s “Pani Bachao, Paisa Kamao” scheme, which offers cash incentives for unused electricity below a set threshold, is showing early promise but suffers from low farmer enrollment.
Experts argue that redirecting a portion of the electricity subsidy to directly support smallholders, promoting collective irrigation infrastructure, and encouraging crop diversification could protect farmer incomes while making additional groundwater extraction financially prohibitive.