Rajan Aggarwal

Water resource management for sustainable agriculture in Punjab, India

The state of Punjab comprising 1.5% area of the country has been contributing 40-50% rice and 60-65% wheat to the central pool since last three decades. During last 35 years The area under foodgrains has increased from 39,200 sq km ha to 63,400 sq km and the production of rice and wheat has increased from 0.18 to 0.32 kg/m2 and 0.22 to 0.43 kg/m2 respectively. This change in cropping pattern has increased irrigation water requirement tremendously and the irrigated area has increased from 71 to 95% in the state. Also the number of tube wells has increased from 0.192 to 1.165 million in the last 35 years. The excessive indiscriminate exploitation of ground water has created a declining water table situation in the state. The problem is most critical in central Punjab. The average rate of decline over the last few years has been 55 cm per year. The worst affected districts are Moga, Sangrur, Nawanshahar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. This has resulted in extra power consumption, affects the socio-economic conditions of the small farmers, destroy the ecological balance and adversely affect the sustainable agricultural production and economy of the state. Therefore, in this paper attempt has been made to analyse the problem of declining water table, possible factors responsible for this and suggest suitable strategies for arresting declining water table for sustainable agriculture in Punjab. The strategies include shift of cropping pattern, delay in paddy transplantation, precision irrigation and rainwater harvesting for artificial groundwater recharge.

Groundwater Simulation Model for Sirhind Canal Tract of Punjab

Groundwater is the basic source of irrigation in the state of Punjab. Due to seasonal supply of surface water, groundwater is used dominantly in the state, which has led to the alarming decrease in the water levels. To understand the spatial and temporal pattern of groundwater, a groundwater model for Sirhind Canal Tract of Punjab was simulated using PMWIN. The model was calibrated for the period of 1996-97 to 2000-01 and validated for the period 2001-02 to 2005-06.Recharge due to irrigation and rainfall was estimated in accordance with GEC (1997) methods. Different statistical tests revealed that there was good agreement between observed and simulated hydraulic heads. Sensitivity analysis showed that the model was more sensitive to specific yield then hydraulic conductivity values. The simulated model can be effectively used for sustainable management of water resources.

Assessment of crop water demand in South-West Punjab

The paper focuses on block-wise assessment of crop water demand for irrigated agricultural areas in South-West Punjab with aim to develop a GIS based system for supporting infrastructural for water resources management. The average seasonal evapotranspiration (ET) demand of the region was estimated to be 725 mm for kharif and 537 mm for rabi season for 2007 to 2013. Blocks namely Lambi (890mm) and Bhagta Bhai Ka (701mm) had the maximum crop water demand whereas blocks Mahal Kalan (482mm) and Phul (323mm) had the least crop water demand. The ET maps derived in the study are useful in determining high water demand areas and can be helpful for planners to adjust the cropping pattern as per the micro level water availability in South-west Punjab.