Canal Water 88% in Punjab: CM Bhagwant Mann Hails Groundwater Rebound Up to 5 Meters

A targeted push to modernize Punjab's rural irrigation infrastructure and reverse decades of severe water-table depletion has delivered tangible improvements across the state's agrarian landscape. Speaking at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that the state's canal water utilization has surged from a meager 22 percent in 2022 to a record 88 percent. The turnaround stems from an extensive network of revived traditional distributaries and thousands of kilometers of newly laid underground pipeline infrastructure, ensuring that canal water reaches tail-end agricultural plots that had remained deprived of surface irrigation for generations.Underground Pipeline Grid Drives 1 to 5 Meter Groundwater ReboundThe rapid expansion of direct canal connectivity to agricultural fields has curbed farmers' reliance on deep borewells and electric pump sets. Citing findings from an official central hydrological assessment, the Chief Minister underscored that groundwater tables in several surveyed pockets across Punjab have recorded measurable rebounds ranging between 1 and 5 meters. By mapping abandoned channels, desilting dormant watercourses, and deploying underground delivery pipelines in terrain where surface canals were unfeasible, the state irrigation apparatus has replaced continuous deep-aquifer extraction with reliable surface water supplies.Slashed Power Bills, Diesel Savings, and Lower Farming Input ExpensesBeyond groundwater conservation, the shift toward canal-fed farming has lowered overall input expenses for the rural farming community. The reduced operational load on submersible tubewells has translated into substantial savings on farm power consumption and diesel expenditures for irrigation generator sets. Urging agrarian households to sustain this ecological shift, the Chief Minister reiterated that maximizing surface water utilization is critical to preserving subterranean reservoirs for future generations, while confirming ongoing plans to widen the pipeline network into remaining agricultural sectors.