India’s Farms Are Running Dry Beneath the Surface

Groundwater Depletion Is Emerging as a Major Threat to the Country’s Agricultural Future

By Dr. Satyawan Saurabh

India’s agricultural success story is increasingly shadowed by a crisis beneath the soil: rapidly declining groundwater reserves. With more than three-fourths of the country’s irrigation dependent on groundwater and agriculture accounting for the overwhelming majority of groundwater extraction, the pressure on aquifers is becoming difficult to ignore. In several agriculture-intensive states, annual groundwater withdrawal has already exceeded natural recharge. Punjab, for instance, has witnessed extraction levels reaching around 152 percent of annual recharge.

The consequences extend well beyond falling water tables. Rising irrigation costs, growing electricity demand, increasing inequality among farmers and ecological degradation are all becoming interconnected dimensions of India’s groundwater challenge.

Policies That Encouraged Water-Intensive Farming

The roots of the problem lie partly in the agricultural policy framework that evolved after the Green Revolution. Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanisms and assured government procurement encouraged farmers, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, to rely heavily on wheat and paddy cultivation.

Paddy is a particularly water-intensive crop, and its extensive cultivation in regions where climatic and water conditions are less favourable has placed additional pressure on underground reserves. The combination of assured markets and policy incentives made these crops economically attractive, even where their water requirements were difficult to sustain.

Highly subsidised or free electricity for agriculture added another layer to the problem. When the marginal cost of pumping groundwater becomes extremely low, there is little economic incentive to restrict extraction. The rapid expansion of tube wells and private bore wells, combined with weak regulation and limited community-level groundwater management, has further intensified the crisis.

Inefficient Irrigation Adds to the Pressure

Agricultural water use is also affected by irrigation practices. Flood irrigation continues to be widely used, despite its relatively low efficiency and high water losses.

Government programmes have promoted micro-irrigation systems such as drip and sprinkler irrigation, but their adoption among small and marginal farmers remains constrained by initial investment requirements, maintenance concerns and limited access to technology.

At the same time, increasingly unpredictable rainfall and changing monsoon patterns have encouraged farmers to depend even more heavily on groundwater as a buffer against climatic uncertainty.

The Cost Is Rising for Farmers and the Environment

As groundwater levels decline, farmers are increasingly forced to install deeper bore wells and more powerful pumps. This raises the cost of irrigation and places a disproportionate burden on small and marginal farmers.

The relationship between water and energy is becoming increasingly important. Extracting water from greater depths requires more energy, creating a cycle in which declining groundwater levels lead to higher pumping requirements and rising energy consumption.

The environmental consequences are equally significant. Excessive groundwater extraction can contribute to land subsidence, increase the risk of salinity intrusion in coastal regions and contribute to long-term deterioration in water quality.

Water scarcity can also intensify competition among agriculture, industry and households. In regions sharing river basins and aquifers, declining availability can add another layer to existing inter-state and local resource disputes.

Crop Diversification Must Become Economically Viable

Addressing the groundwater crisis requires more than technological solutions. Agricultural incentives, institutions and farming practices must be brought into closer alignment with ecological realities.

Crop diversification should move beyond policy slogans and become an economically workable strategy. In states such as Punjab and Haryana, farmers need viable alternatives to water-intensive paddy. Maize, pulses, oilseeds and horticultural crops can play a larger role if farmers receive reliable markets, appropriate price support and adequate processing and storage infrastructure.

Without assured economic returns, diversification is unlikely to become a large-scale reality.

Making Every Drop Count

Improving irrigation efficiency is another critical component. Schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, particularly the “Per Drop More Crop” component, have sought to expand drip and sprinkler irrigation through financial support.

Water-saving agricultural practices can also make a difference. Direct-seeded rice, alternate wetting and drying techniques and laser land levelling can reduce water requirements at the farm level when appropriately implemented.

However, technology alone cannot solve the problem. Farmers need affordable access to equipment, technical support, reliable electricity and markets that reward water-efficient production.

Stronger Groundwater Governance Is Essential

Groundwater is often treated as an individual resource because it is extracted through privately owned wells. Yet aquifers function as shared systems. This makes community participation and institutional coordination essential.

Panchayats and water-user associations can play a greater role in groundwater management through participatory aquifer mapping, local water budgeting and monitoring of extraction.

In critically over-exploited areas, regulatory mechanisms such as linking new bore wells and electricity connections to sustainable groundwater-use criteria could complement voluntary conservation efforts.

Reforming Subsidies Without Burdening Small Farmers

Electricity and agricultural subsidies also require careful reconsideration. Moving gradually from flat-rate or free electricity towards metered, volumetric pricing could create incentives for efficient water use.

However, such reforms would need safeguards for small and marginal farmers, including targeted direct benefit transfers where appropriate. Agricultural support programmes could also incorporate water-use criteria, rewarding farmers who adopt water-efficient crops and technologies.

The objective should not simply be to reduce subsidies, but to redesign incentives so that agricultural income and water conservation reinforce rather than undermine each other.

Recharge, Watershed Management and Conjunctive Use

Groundwater conservation must also focus on replenishing aquifers. Rainwater harvesting, check dams, recharge structures and watershed management can improve natural groundwater recharge where local geological and hydrological conditions permit.

At the same time, better development of canal command areas and the coordinated use of surface water and groundwater can reduce excessive dependence on aquifers.

Such measures require local planning because groundwater conditions vary considerably across regions.

A Choice Between Short-Term Output and Long-Term Resilience

India’s groundwater challenge is ultimately a question of agricultural sustainability. Continuing to extract groundwater faster than nature can replenish it may support production in the short term, but it increases the risks faced by farmers, communities and future generations.

A more sustainable agricultural pathway would combine crop diversification, efficient irrigation, redesigned incentives, groundwater regulation, recharge measures and stronger community participation.

Groundwater is more than an underground reserve—it is a form of intergenerational natural capital. The way India manages this hidden resource today will influence whether its agricultural landscapes remain productive for decades to come or face increasingly severe water constraints.

Dr. Priyanka Saurabh, PhD (Political Science), is a poet and social thinker.

(SDNA)