BATHINDA, Sept. 22 -- In a growing trend across southwest Punjab, farmers are increasingly installing solar-powered tubewells without seeking approval from the state government - a move that is raising serious concerns about the unchecked exploitation of groundwater. Bypassing official procedures and turning to private companies for quick, off-the-grid installations, farmers are using renewable energy to meet rising irrigation demands, particularly as many shift from cotton to water-intensive paddy cultivation. As groundwater depletion is a major concern for the agriculture sector of Punjab, the government regulations restrict new connections for power-run tubewells, which get free power from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). Punjab Energy Development Authority (PEDA) encourages the installation of solar pumps under regulated procedures. But officials from the two departments said the privately installed solar-powered tubewells are beyond their jurisdiction. Officials said that a section of farmers is digging new tubewells and energising them with green energy technology. Still, in the absence of a clear-cut policy, there are no checks on them, leading to their widespread adoption without proper scrutiny, said an official. Information gathered from the field indicates that farmers are digging new tubewell bores to meet their growing irrigation needs in the field, as they are increasingly preferring rice cultivation over the kharif crop of cotton. Farmers are digging tubewells between 35-80 feet and spending between Rs.1.25-2.5 lakh for a 3 or 7.5 horsepower capacity of solar-based power. Farmers like Gurpal Brar from Bathinda's Jhumba village said he dug a new tubewell last year that was hassle-free. "There is no need to apply for a new tubewell connection with solar power, and technicians from the private companies install the solar panel immediately. Earlier, I was sowing a traditional crop of cotton, but the cash crop failed due to the poor season since 2022, so I decided to switch to paddy cultivation. The crop option needs a higher amount of water and I got a new tubewell," added Brar. Prof BS Dhillon, former vice-chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said that this emerging trend has been noticed in Bathinda, Muktsar and Mansa. "This is a very disturbing trend in view of the state's depleting groundwater reserves, which would derail initiatives for agricultural diversification. The state government should take immediate steps to check the malpractice," said Dhillon. Another farmer with a large landholding in Muktsar said that installing a new tubewell and running it on solar energy is very convenient. "My ancestral farmland falls in the Muktsar town's periphery, where the power supply is always limited. The solar panels come at a cheaper price and there was no involvement of any official nod for it. Now, we can run the tubewell as per our convenience," he said. The farmer said that his family friend dug two solar-run new tubewells. According to Jagsir Singh, leader of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), farmers from the south Malwa districts are forced to spend extra money to buy solar panels and dig new tubewells as the supply of canal water is inadequate. Chief agriculture officer of Bathinda Jagdish Singh said that exact data of the tubewells and their source of energy would be known after a statewide census expected to be started this year or in the beginning of 2026. Rajan Aggarwal, principal scientist in department of soil and water engineering, PAU, said that it is a matter of study to ascertain any adverse impact on the shallow aquifers or underground water sources near the surface, but several areas of the southwest region of Punjab are not facing any serious threat of groundwater depletion. However, Kahan Singh Pannu, retired IAS officer and founding member of 'Punjab Water Conservation Initiative Group', a body of PAU alumni, said that the state government should start a comprehensive study on a priority on the new tubewells being dug....