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Punjab's Water Crisis: Act Ignores Rural Reality
28 Jan
Summary
- Punjab faces water bankruptcy with groundwater extraction at 156% of recharge.
- Proposed Tree Protection Act, 2025, is heavily urban-focused, ignoring rural areas.
- Green cover has declined significantly, with forest cover at 3.67% in 2023.
Punjab's groundwater extraction rate of 156% of recharge signifies a state of 'water bankruptcy.' The forthcoming Punjab Tree Protection Act, 2025, is critically flawed as it largely overlooks the rural areas, which constitute 90% of the state's land and are crucial for ecological survival.
Official data from 2023 reveals a stark decline in green cover, with forest cover at 3.67% and tree cover at 2.92%, totaling only 6.59%. The proposed legislation's exclusion of agroforestry and farm trees ignores significant components of existing green cover and vital diversification pathways for a debt-strapped state.
This urban-centric approach inadequately addresses the systemic breakdown Punjab is experiencing, mirroring global trends of depletion. Experts warn that failure to integrate rural landscapes and agroforestry into the Tree Protection Act risks accelerating the collapse of natural systems vital for the state's existence and water security.
