News: Farmer’s NGT Plea on Haryana Waterlogging and Groundwater-28-04-2026
A petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has described a "grave and continuing environmental crisis" in Haryana, citing waterlogging, soil salinity and severe groundwater depletion. The tribunal will take it up on Thursday.
Jai Singh, a farmer from Bhiwani district, filed the plea before the principal bench through counsels Gaurav Arya and Naveen Bamel. It states that nearly 982,000 acres are affected by waterlogging and salinisation and over 60% of groundwater assessment units are "over-exploited". Around 174,000 acres are in severely affected zones where the water table is as shallow as 0 to 1.5 metres, it claims.
The plea traces the problem to water management failures since the Green Revolution: water-intensive crops, excessive irrigation and unregulated extraction. Central and western Haryana face rising water tables, while southern and eastern regions face sharp depletion. It cites crop losses, falling soil fertility, financial distress and migration.
Invoking Article 21, sustainable development and intergenerational equity, it seeks a multidisciplinary committee, including Central Ground Water Board experts, to prepare a time-bound action plan. Bamel said there has been no integrated solution despite ample data. Arya blamed decades of unscientific water management.
Prabhakar Kumar, COO of Rudrabhishek Techno Consultancy, said the three problems are interconnected and worsened by poor drainage, unplanned urbanisation and weak water management. He called for a data-driven approach with better drainage, protection of natural channels and monitoring.
