Chandigarh, May 1 — A petition has been filed with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking intervention against the Punjab government’s recent decision to advance the date for paddy transplantation from June 15 to June 1, citing severe environmental concerns.
The petition, filed by senior advocate and social activist Hari Chand Arora, is expected to be heard later this week.
Arora has urged the NGT to direct the state government to reverse the advancement, warning that it will further strain Punjab’s already critical groundwater resources and escalate electricity consumption for running agricultural tubewells.
“Increasing the paddy sowing window will only intensify groundwater extraction, which is already unsustainable,” Arora said in the petition. “The government’s move disregards the findings of its own groundwater assessment report.”
The plea refers to the “Groundwater Resources of Punjab” report by the Groundwater Management Circle of the state’s Water Resources Department.
According to the report, the number of overexploited blocks has risen from 110 in 2009 to 114 in 2022. Similarly, critical blocks have increased from three to four, and semi-critical blocks from two to 15 during the same period. Meanwhile, the number of safe blocks has declined from 23 to just 17.
The petitioner also argued that shifting the sowing schedule could lead to a spike in power consumption at a time when the state is already under pressure to supply uninterrupted electricity to farmers during peak summer months.
The Punjab government’s decision comes amid growing concern about the environmental and economic sustainability of paddy cultivation in the region. However, the administration has not yet issued a detailed response to the concerns raised in the petition.
