Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Dr. Amit Kumar Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Others dated 28/05/2025. The applicant has raised a grievance against setting up of a tyre pyrolysis plant by M/s Adideva Carbon LLP. According to the applicant, the tyre pyrolysis plant has …
A working group on “Minor Irrigation and Watershed Management” was constituted by Planning Commission, Government of India to develop and define broad contours of future watershed development projects that could be implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan. To give proper and adequate attention to watershed management related issues, a …
Water levels in Punjab may be falling drastically, but majority of the farmers blissfully ignore agricultural practices that can save natural resources. Over the last decade, only 15 per cent of the total cultivated area in the state has been exposed to resource conservation technologies, which means less pumping of …
Mandatory permits and a cess on groundwater use to irrigate cash crops, run industry or for mining are among the measures proposed by the Government in a draft Bill that aims at conserving groundwater. The Model Bill for the Protection, Conservation, Management and Regulation of Groundwater — which was discussed …
This report analyzes the political economy of two important fields of agricultural policy in India: fertilizer supply and electricity supply for groundwater irrigation. These inputs are essential to food production and agricultural development, which have been core areas of concern for policymakers in India since Independence. Following the food shortages …
This paper presents the results of the Columbia Water Center’s study of the severe groundwater crisis in the Mehsana region of Northern Gujarat, India. The study concludes that the current pattern of groundwater exploitation is both costly for the state and unsustainable for farmers, and could lead to the complete …
The paper shows that the assessment of groundwater over-exploitation based on simplistic considerations of aggregate abstraction and recharge provide highly misleading outcomes. The gravity of the problems can be gauged from the extent of well failures, sharp decline in average area irrigated by wells, and increase in energy consumption for …
IT IS back to square one for the farmers of Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh. Reeling under persistent drought from 2003-08, they were driven to mentha (mint) cultivation that promised good returns. Instead, it increased debts. Cultivation of this water-intensive crop is fast shrinking due to depletion of groundwater and …
The groundwater crisis is acquiring alarming proportions in many parts of the country. Strategies to respond to groundwater overuse and deteriorating water quality must be based on a new approach involving typologising the resource problems and redefining the institutional structure governing groundwater. This approach is based on the notion of …
Until the 1940s, the irrigation and drinking water needs of India were met by rivers, ponds, lakes, dugwells, and rainwater sources. However, in the middle of the 20th century India continually faced two daunting challenges: providing food for an ever-growing population and decreasing the burden of highly prevalent water-borne diseases, …
This IWMI report assesses water depletion from consumptive water use of agricultural production in Moga district, Punjab. It focuses on the growth in agricultural production & stress on water resources induced by groundwater irrigation. This report assesses water depletion from the consumptive water use (CWU) of agricultural production in the …
The aim of this paper is to provide a strategic overview of a decade of experience in supporting public administrations in their efforts to confront excessive groundwater resource exploitation for agricultural irrigation. Special emphasis is put on a series of on-the-ground pilot projects mainly in South and East Asia and …
Increased use of fresh water supplies in agricultural and non-agricultural activities in the past few decades has caused an alarming rate of groundwater depletion in many regions of the world. This threatens the sustenance of crop production and the ensuing food security. There is an urgency to look for measures …
Largest user of groundwater is India: World BankLauds Andhra model of self-regulationTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A World Bank report has expressed concern at the over-exploitation of groundwater in India.The report carried in a recent issue of the publication
It is important to design policies to pay farmers the real cost of growing food if we want to build local food sufficiencyVijay Jawandhia is a farmer in Vidarbha, the region which brought home to us the crisis that is compelling farmers to kill themselves. He is also a farmer …
The Andhra Government intends to check depleting groundwater levels by roping in farmers to monitor its use. Monya and Ashutosh Mishra wonder if it will result in a shift to less water intensive cropsShekhar, 25, committed suicide a year ago. A resident of Burgupalle village in Andhra Pradesh's Mahabubnagar district, …
MAHABUBNAGAR A Shekhar, 25, committed suicide a year ago. A resident of Burgupalle village in Andhra Pradesh’s Mahabub - nagar district, he had bought half a hectare (ha) for growing paddy. He borrowed Rs 1.5 lakh to sink three borewells but did not find groundwater. Shekhar could not repay the …
The Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA) was enacted in 2002. Meant to regulate groundwater use, the Act requires farmers to register their borewells with the mandal revenue office after getting clearance from the district groundwater office. Farmers like Muniratnam Naidu in Chittoor district laugh at the idea of taking …
The quantum of groundwater Andhra Pradesh received earlier from 100,000 borewells is now obtained by drilling 260,000 borewells, said A K Jain, special secretary to the state’s irrigation and command area development department. B Peddiraji, tehsildar of Butchayyapeta in Visakhapatnam district, added there is tremendous pressure on groundwater, with the …
The million-odd users of groundwater in Andhra Pradesh need a new form of regulation, everybody agrees. The system based on permits—under WALTA—only adds to the transaction cost of farmers. The fact is there is a desperation to dig and then dig deeper. There is no estimation how much the farmers—private …
There is one being-Indian-thing, which spans the urban-rural and the rich-poor divide: our annual watch and wait for the monsoon. It begins every year, without fail as heat climbs and the monsoon advances. The farmers wait desperately because they need the rain at the right time to sow their crops. …
