Kaur, Sandeep Kadian, Himanshu Singh and Singh, Mankirat
The unequal burden of groundwater depletion in Punjab - Economic & Political Weekly - 61(26-27), Jun 27, Jul 4, 2026: p.82-89
The primary data analysis from groundwater-stressed districts of Punjab reveals an inverse relationship between operational landholding size and groundwater productivity. Marginal farmers achieve significantly higher irrigation water productivity, recording 3.32 kg/m³ for wheat and 0.60 kg/m³ for paddy, compared to large farmers who record only 1.71 kg/m³ and 0.29 kg/m³, respectively. Large farmers, equipped with deep tube wells and high-powered motor pumps, extract groundwater at a scale that marginal farmers cannot match. Also, access to minimum support price to water-intensive crops, free electricity and deep tube wells incentives inefficient use.- Reproduced
https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/26-27/special-articles/unequal-burden-groundwater-depletion-punjab.html
The unequal burden of groundwater depletion in Punjab - Economic & Political Weekly - 61(26-27), Jun 27, Jul 4, 2026: p.82-89
The primary data analysis from groundwater-stressed districts of Punjab reveals an inverse relationship between operational landholding size and groundwater productivity. Marginal farmers achieve significantly higher irrigation water productivity, recording 3.32 kg/m³ for wheat and 0.60 kg/m³ for paddy, compared to large farmers who record only 1.71 kg/m³ and 0.29 kg/m³, respectively. Large farmers, equipped with deep tube wells and high-powered motor pumps, extract groundwater at a scale that marginal farmers cannot match. Also, access to minimum support price to water-intensive crops, free electricity and deep tube wells incentives inefficient use.- Reproduced
https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/26-27/special-articles/unequal-burden-groundwater-depletion-punjab.html