| The present study, conducted during 2005-06, in two districts, viz. Amritsar and Faridkot of Punjab, (former having pre-dominantly tubewell-irrigated area and the latter having canal + tubewell irrigation facilities) has assessed the extent of water depletion and has measured irrigation efficiency at the farm level. Due to profitability and availability of water at shallow depths during 1970s, paddy and wheat (two of the high water-consuming crops) replaced other crops like maize, groundnut and pulses in the entire state. The area under these two crops increased from 7.22 per cent to 32.92 per cent for paddy and from 37.12 per cent to 43.53 per cent for wheat, from TE 1965 to TE 2005. Consequently, the problem of groundwater depletion has become severe in... |
