Water resource management for sustainable agriculture in Punjab, India

Q IWA Publishing 2009 Water Science & Technology—WST | 60.11 | 2009

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Water resource management for sustainable agriculture in Punjab, India Rajan Aggarwal, Mohinder Kaushal, Samanpreet Kaur and Bhupinder Farmaha

ABSTRACT The state of Punjab comprising 1.5% area of the country has been contributing 40–50% rice and 60–65% wheat to the central pool since last three decades. During last 35 years The area under foodgrains has increased from 39,200 sq km ha to 63,400 sq km and the production of rice and wheat has increased from 0.18 to 0.32 kg/m2 and 0.22 to 0.43 kg/m2 respectively. This change in cropping pattern has increased irrigation water requirement tremendously and the irrigated area has increased from 71 to 95% in the state. Also the number of tube wells has increased

Rajan Aggarwal Mohinder Kaushal Samanpreet Kaur (corresponding author) Bhupinder Farmaha Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India E-mail: [email protected]

from 0.192 to 1.165 million in the last 35 years. The excessive indiscriminate exploitation of ground water has created a declining water table situation in the state. The problem is most critical in central Punjab. The average rate of decline over the last few years has been 55 cm per year. The worst affected districts are Moga, Sangrur, Nawanshahar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. This has resulted in extra power consumption, affects the socio-economic conditions of the small farmers, destroy the ecological balance and adversely affect the sustainable agricultural production and economy of the state. Therefore, in this paper attempt has been made to analyse the problem of declining water table, possible factors responsible for this and suggest suitable strategies for arresting declining water table for sustainable agriculture in Punjab. The strategies include shift of cropping pattern, delay in paddy transplantation, precision irrigation and rainwater harvesting for artificial groundwater recharge. Key words

| sustainability, water demand, water resources

INTRODUCTION Punjab having geographical area of about 50,362 sq km is

to 63,400 sq km and the production of rice and wheat has

divided into 20 districts and is predominantly an agrarian

increased from 0.18 to 0.32 kg/m2 and 0.22 to 0.43 kg/m2

state. Green Revolution has changed the overall scenario of

respectively. This change in cropping pattern has increased

Agriculture in Punjab. As a result of all this the state’s

irrigation water requirement tremendously and the irrigated

contribution in rice, wheat and cotton production at

area has increased from 71 to 96% in the state.

national level is remarkable. The state of Punjab with only 1.6% of the total geographical area of the country, is contributing 40– 50% rice, 60 –65% wheat and 20– 25% cotton to the central pool since last three decades. About 85

CURRENT STATUS OF WATER RESOURCES

per cent of the state’s area is cultivated with cropping

The current status of water resources can be viewed in terms

intensity of more than 186 per cent. During last 35 years

of supplies and demand for water in the state for

The area under foodgrains has increased from 39,200 sq km

agricultural and non-agricultural activities. Based on an

doi: 10.2166/wst.2009.348

R. Aggarwal et al. | Water resource management for sustainable agriculture in Punjab

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Table 1

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Water Science & Technology—WST | 60.11 | 2009

being over-exploited using shallow and deep tube wells in

Water resources of Punjab

the state, the number of which has swelled from a mere

Source

Water available (M m3)

Canal water (Headworks)

17,900

The latest study of groundwater balance estimates (Table 2)

Canal water (Outlet)

14,500

shows that out of 137 development blocks, 103 fall in ‘over

Groundwater

16,800

exploited’ category having groundwater extraction more than

Annual available water

31,300

100% of annual replenishment, 5 are classified as critical

Annual water demand

44,000

(stage of development 90– 100%), 4 are ‘Semi-Critical’

Deficit

12,700

having stage of development between 70 and 90% and 25

0.192 million in 1970 to 1.193 million at present in the state

in ‘Safe’ category having groundwater draft less than 70% of

Source: Directorate of Water Resources and Environment, Punjab.

annual recharge. Block Nihalsinghwala in Moga district for assessment by the Directorate of Water Resources of

example has the maximum stage of development of more

Irrigation Department of Punjab, total surface water

than 200%. Safe blocks lie in southwest Punjab where

3

available at different headworks is about 17,900 M m . Of

groundwater is of poor quality and in Kandi area where

these, 14,500 M m3 is available at the outlet. Prihar et al.

extraction is restricted due to deeper ground water aquifers.

(1993) estimated the groundwater contribution from rainfall

The water level depth data of monitoring network

and seepage from canals as 16,800 M m3 thus making the

(Directorate of Water Resources and Environment, Punjab)

total availability of water as 31,300 M m3 (Anonymous

also reveals that in 44 percent of the state’s geographical

2002). The crop water demand has been worked out as

area, water table is beyond the critical level of 10 m. The

3

3

44,000 M m thus leaving an annual deficit of 12,700 M m

area having water table depth below 10 m depth has

(Table 1). In order to meet crop demand the ground water is

increased from a mere 3 percent in 1973 to 53 percent in

Table 2

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District wise categorization of blocks

S. No.

District

Safe

Semi-critical

Overexploited-critical

Total no. of blocks

1.

Amritsar

0

0

16

16

2.

Sangrur

0

0

12

12

3.

Patiala

0

0

8

8

4.

Ropar

4

0

2 þ 1

7

5.

Muktsar

4

0

0

4

6.

Nawanshahr

2

0

3

5

7.

Mansa

0

0

5

5

8.

Moga

0

0

5

5

9.

Kapurthala

0

0

5

5

10.

Ludhiana

0

0

10 þ 1

11

11.

Faridkot

0

0

2

2

12.

Fatehgarh

0

1

5

6

13.

Ferozepur

2

0

7 þ 1

10

14.

Jalandhar

0

0

10

10

15.

Bhatinda

3

0

4

7

16.

Gurdaspur

4

1

7 þ 2

14

17.

Hoshiarpur

6

2

2

10

Total

25

4

103 þ 5 ¼ 108

137

Source: Directorate of Water Resources and Environment, Punjab.


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4. Declining trend of rainfall: As compared to long time average annual rainfall for 30 years (1970– 1999) which is 606 mm, it has now come down to 400 mm for the 5 year block period of 2000 – 2004, a significant reduction of 200 mm. Another feature of the storms during this period has been a greater number of high intensity short duration storms (which generate more surface runoff) rather than low intensity long duration storms which induce increased recharge. The net result has been that natural recharge has decreased (Figure 2). 5. Decrease in canal irrigated area: The percent net area irrigated by canals has decreased from 45 per cent in Figure 1

|

Progressive growth of tubewells in Punjab.

1970 – 71 to only 25 percent in 2001– 02 with the result that dependency on ground water has increased tremen-

2000. The long term fall of water table for 1984 –2002

dously to meet food production targets (Figure 3).

reveals that water table has fallen in about 80% of the state’

6. Lack of proper planning of systematic groundwater

geographical area (Takshi & Chopra 2004). Up to 1995, the

extraction: Over exploitation of groundwater has been

average fall of water table in Punjab was about 23 cm per

taking place to meet the increased demand of irrigation

year (Khepar et al. 2000) which during the next 6 years

water for crop production, industrial and domestic

(1997 – 2003) increased to 53 cm per year (Hira et al. 2001) and is currently about 70 cm per year.

sectors because of property-based rights. 7. Overall increase in water demand: To meet the increasing demand of industrial and domestic sector, groundwater extraction has been on the rise.

REASONS FOR DECLINING TREND OF WATER TABLE The present groundwater scenario is because of the following reasons.

FORECAST OF GROUNDWATER BEHAVIOR

1. Change in cropping pattern: The Punjab farmers shifted

Considering the present trend of fall in water table, the

from low water consuming crops to high water requiring

future projections are quite disturbing. It is estimated that

paddy crop like irrespective of the soil conditions. There

by the year 2020, more than 30 percent of the state’s

has been a drastic increase in area under paddy from

additional area would be clubbed to the area where water

4,000 sq km in 1971 to 26,000 sq km in 2004. Paddy consumes 62 per cent and wheat 20 per cent of total irrigation water requirement and, water use of paddy crop is maximum i.e. 3 cubic metres per kg of output. 2. Increase in area under irrigation: Net area under irrigation has increased from 70 per cent in 1970 –71 to 96 percent in 2004 –05. Also, there is an increase in cropping intensity from 124 to 186 per cent resulting in an increased abstraction of ground water over the years. 3. Increase in number of tubewells: Number of tubewells has increased from 0.192 million in 1971 to 1.193 million in 2006. This has resulted into excessive over exploitation of groundwater (Figure 1).

Figure 2

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Average annual rainfall in Punjab.


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Figure 3

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Net irrigated area by different sources in Punjab.

level is already beyond the critical level of 10 meter depth

losses. Conveyance losses can also be avoided by using

(Takshi & Chopra 2004). As compared to the year 2001, the

under ground pipeline system where the water is conveyed

water table in central Punjab will fall by 14% in 2005, 34%

in a pipeline. Till date, 12,872 km of pipeline has been laid

in 2010 and by the year 2010, entire central Punjab will

in Punjab state benefiting an area of 4,752.82 sq km.

have water table depth beyond 14 m (Hira et al. 2001). Reduction in application losses

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES The water resources in the state of Punjab can be managed by saving irrigation water using water saving techniques and by augmenting the ground water resources through artificial recharge techniques.

Proper selection of an irrigation method for a particular crop is very important to achieve higher application efficiency. For example, the replacement of border method of irrigation with furrow method of irrigation in wide- row crops like cotton, sunflower and maize save water. Precision laser land leveling technology saves costly inputs like fertilizers, improve crop stand, and increases

Water saving techniques Improvement in irrigation efficiencies

yield by about 15 percent. Laser leveling saves irrigation water by about 25 percent in comparison with non-lasered fields and reduces labor cost.

Average irrigation efficiency of irrigation systems, at

For efficient application of irrigation water the optimum

present, is very low ranging from 30 to 40 per cent. Water

plot size for different soil type, field slopes, stream size

is lost during conveyance through seepage from main canal,

should be adopted as given in Table 3.

branches, distributaries, minors, water courses and field channels. The average water losses from unlined canals, branches and distributaries, and water courses are 8, 17, 20

Improved irrigation methods

percent respectively, of water released from reservoir (Singh

Pressurized irrigation systems (sprinkler and drip) have the

1978). Lining is an effective way of minimizing conveyance

potential to increase irrigation water use efficiency as high


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Table 3

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Recommended plot sizes under different soil types, slopes and discharges in one acre length Number of border strips for different discharges (m3/hr)

Soil type

Average slope (%)

27 –36

54

72

108

162

216

Light

0.3

17 – 18

14– 15

12– 13

9 – 10

6–7

4–5

0.4

15 – 16

13– 14

10– 11

7–8

5–6

0.5

13 –14

11– 12

9–10

6–7

4–5

0.2

12 – 13

9 – 10

6–7

4–5

0.3

10 – 11

7–8

5–6

Medium

Heavy

0.4

8–9

6–7

4–5

0.05

9 – 10

6–7

4–5

0.15

7–8

5–6

0.25

6–7

4–5

as 75 – 90 percent. For example, irrigation applications in

followed by 2 days of drying can result in 25% saving of

furrow in wide row crops like sugarcane, cotton, sunflower

water. Also shifting the date of transplanting of paddy from

and maize save water without any yield reduction. Singh

first week of May to third week of June checks the water

et al. (1995) reported a saving of 100 – 170 mm of water in

table decline by 70 cm without any adverse effect on the

cotton compared to flood irrigation without any yield loss.

yield (Hira et al. 2001).

Table 4 shows the yield gain and water saving of important

It has been recommended that for maximum rainfall

crops under drip irrigation. The Punjab Government is

conservation point of view, the optimum effective dike

providing high subsidy to its large scale adoption.

height in paddy fields should be 15, 17.5 and 22.5 cm for light, medium and heavy soils respectively.

Water saving in paddy Paddy in Punjab is sown in an area of about 26,000 sq km.

Zero tillage technology

Proper scheduling of irrigation (amount and timing) to

Use of zero-till drill on one sq km of land is estimated to

crops is an important component of water saving technol-

save 6 – 7 m3 of diesel and approximately 0.1 M m3 of

ogies. Intermittent irrigation in paddy i.e. 15 days ponding

irrigation water. Adoption of zero till practices over an

Table 4

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Yield gain and water saving of important crops under drip irrigation

Crop

Saving in water (%)

Increase in yield (%)

Sunflower

52

–

Maize

53

11

Chilli

53

–

Cauliflower

63

29

Potato

38

38

Tomato

23

42

Pea

41

56

Bottle gourd

50

36.5

Carrot

47.6

15

Sugarcane

17.6

18.7

Brinjal

43.7

32

Source: Department of Soil and Water Engineering PAU, Ludhiana.

area of 5,000 sq km could increase wheat production by 2 billion kg, and also save 5 billion cubic metres of water and 0.5 millions cubic metres of diesel each year.

Bed planting Bed planting of wheat results irrigation water savings ranging from 18 to 25 percent as compared with the conventional tilled wheat (Hossain et al. 2001; Talukder et al. 2002; Hobbs & Gupta 2003).

Mulching Application of straw mulch improves the water use efficiency and helps in water saving by reducing the ET losses (Jalota et al. 2000) and increased yields of number of


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field crops during summer months (Singh et al. 1995). The

structures, the water table which was falling in Hoshiarpur

few reports on the effect of mulching on water use in RW

district has resulted in an average rise of 5.9 cm per year. Anonymous (2004) while working on an ad hoc project

systems refer to mulching of wheat, and suggest that sufficient water is saved (25 –100 mm) to reduce the

on artificial ground water recharge techniques for Kandi

number of irrigations by one or irrigation time by an

area of Punjab has emphasized that monsoon rainfall in

average of 17 percent in water limiting situations (Zaman &

Kandi area should be recharged by constructing check

Choudhuri 1995).

dams on natural streams coupled with infiltration galleries to a tubewell for artificial groundwater recharge.

Crop diversification Increasing ground water recharge Replacing rice with less water guzzling crops like maize, soybean, groundnut and pulses etc. could save substantial quantities of water as depicted in Table 5. This has been recommended by the Johal Committee on crop diversification but needs to be implemented in letter and spirit to

A number of studies in recent years bring out the possibilities of promoting greater recharge of aquifers with surplus runoff available during the rainy season through spreading or by injection through wells. Using the available network of surface drains is one such possibility. The

retrieve the situation on water front.

recharge capacity of the drains can also be increased substantially by installation of series of recharge shafts in Replacement of long duration crop varieties Long duration varieties of rice results in increased crop water requirement. Emphasis need to be given on short duration varieties and superior quality basmati, having lesser water requirement.

case of drain is underlain by comparatively more impervious strata. Khepar et al. (2002) developed a strategy to determine the optimum number of check structures for enhancing the groundwater recharge using surface runoff and surplus canal water.

Roof top rainwater harvesting Augmenting water resources

Roof top rainwater is the purest form of water before it joins the surface runoff. If this could be tapped for artificial

Recharge in Kandi area

ground water recharge, this would help in checking

Kandi area experiences more than 1,000 mm of annual

the ground water decline besides improving the quality of

rainfall, out of which 40 per cent goes as runoff during the

ground water; reduce the load on sewage system, save the

rainy season. There are about 120 small water harvesting

roads and streets from possible damage and health hazards.

structures (WHS) in the Shivaliks foothills under different

There is a potential of 32.2 and 70.8 M m3 (Aggarwal 2007)

watershed programmes. It has been conclusively established

of rooftop rainwater for being tapped for ground water

by Khepar et al. (2000) that due to the impact of these

recharge in urban and rural areas respectively.

Table 5

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Crop diversification

Option: Replacement of rice with Irrigation water demand (rice 5 73 cm) Crop

Area (km2)

Maize

With alternative (cm)

Water saved (Mm3)

2,500

60

325

Groundnut

500

50

115

Soybean

500

60

65

Pulses

500

45

150

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Renovation of village ponds There are about 13,000 village ponds out of a total of 23,000 in Punjab which could be used for providing irrigation after renovation. The water stored therein would thus reduce the ground water withdrawal by about 6 cm per year.

CONCLUSIONS Keeping in view the present scenario, there is urgent need to shift at least 5 – 10% of the area under paddy crop, adopt efficient water management practices and adopt groundwater augmenting techniques on mass scale for sustainability of agriculture.

REFERENCES Aggarwal, R. 2007 Scope of Rainwater harvesting through Rooftop in Punjab. Paper presented in Conference on “Environmental and Livelihood Security Through Resource Management in Northern India” organized by Indian association of Soil and Water Conservationists, Dehradun at Chandigarh. Anonymous 2002 Agriculture Production Pattern Adjustment Programme in Punjab for Productivity and Growth. A Report to the Government of Punjab, Chief Minister’s Advisory Committee on Agriculture Policy and Restructuring, Oct. 2002. p. 123. Anonymous 2004 Studies on Artificial Recharge Techniques for Kandi Area. Project Report of ICAR—Adhoc Project. Hira, G. S., Jalota, S. K. & Arora, V. K. 2001 Efficient Management of Water Resources for Sustainable Cropping in Punjab. Research Bulletin, Department of Soils, PAU, Ludhiana. Hobbs, P. R. & Gupta, R. K. 2003 Rice-wheat cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains: issues of water productivity in relation to new resource-conserving technologies. In: Kijne, J. W., Barker, R. & Molden, D. (eds) Water Productivity in Agriculture: Limits and Opportunities for Improvement. CABI, Wallingford.


Hossain, M. I., Talukder, A. S. M. H. M., Sufian, M. A., Hossain, A. B. S. & Meisner, C. A. 2001 Performance of bed planting and nitrogen fertilizer under rice-wheat-mungbean cropping systems in Bangladesh. www.cimmyt.org/bangladesh Jalota, S. K., Arora, V. K. & Singh, O. 2000 Development and evaluation of a soil water evaporation model to assess the effects of soil texture, tillage and crop residue management under field conditions. Soil Use Manage. 16, 194– 199. Khepar, S. D., Sondhi, S. K., Chawla, J. K. & Singh, M. 2000 Impact of soil and water conservation works on ground water regime in Kandi Area of Punjab. J. Soil Water Conserv. 45(1 –20), 41 –49. Khepar, S. D., Yadav, A. K., Sondhi, S. K., Siag, M. & Chawla, J. K. 2002 Optimum number of check structures for enhancing ground water recharge through surface drainage using surplus canal water—a case study. I.E.(I) Journal—AG 83, 16 – 19. Prihar, S. S., Khepar, S. D., Singh, R., Grewal, S. S. & Sondhi, S. K. 1993 Water resources of Punjab: a critical concern for the future of its agriculture. Bulletin, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. p. 54. Singh, G. 1978 Ground water recharge from canals and other water conveyance systems, stream flow and aquifer storage. Proc. Nat. Symp. Land and Water Manage. In the Indus Basin (India). Ludhiana: Punjab Agric. Univ. Vol. 1, pp. 79 –86. Singh, B., Chhibba, I. M. & Brar, J. S. 1995 Salient research findings of practical utility. Department of Soils. Ludhiana: Punjab Agricultural University. Talukder, A. S. M. H. M., Sufian, M. A., Meisner, C. A., Duxbury, J. M., Lauren, J. G. & Hossain, A. B. S. 2002 Enhancing food security in warmer areas through permanent raised-bed in wheat: save water and reduce global warming. Poster paper at 2nd International Group Meeting on ‘Wheat Technologies for Warmer Areas’, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India, 23 –26 September 2002. www.cimmyt.org/bangladesh/ Takshi, K. S. & Chopra, R. P. S. 2004 Monitoring and assessment of groundwater resources in Punjab State. 2004. Proceedings of workshop on Groundwater use in North-west India. Centre for Advancement of Sustainable agriculture, New Delhi. pp. 8 –15. Zaman, A. & Choudhuri, S. K. 1995 Water use and yield of wheat under unmulched and mulched conditions in laterite soil of the Indian sub-continent. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 175, 349– 353.