Indiscriminate installation of solar pumps in India would sharply deplete groundwater levels, warns top expert

By A Representative
One of the topmost Indian experts on water resource management, Prof Tushaar Shah, has warned that the massive unplanned drive, which has begun across the country, to allow installation of highly subsidized solar pumps to suck out scarce groundwater resources for irrigation may cause a major environmental disaster, if not properly handled.
Talking with newspersons at the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA), Prof Shah, who is with the prestigious Columbia-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI), with an office in Anand, Gujarat, said, “So far, in our estimation, around 45,000 solar pumps have been installed across India, 25,000 in Rajasthan alone”, adding, “In Gujarat, 1,500 such pumps have been installed.”
Pointing out that states are offering “huge subsidies” of 70 to 95 per cent (Rajasthan and Gujarat, respectively) for installing solar pumps up to the capacity of 5 kilowatts (KW), up from 2 KW earlier, Prof Shah said, this is already leading farmers to install them "indiscriminately" as they find it as a “far cheaper source of groundwater irrigation than diesel or electricity.”
“Our estimate is, given the massive pressure from the farming community and reducing price of solar pumps, there would be around one million such pumps across India by 2020”, Prof Shah said, adding, “Unregulated, this would mean that the farmers would use the pumps to suck out scarce water without restriction, as they would find it extremely cheap, almost free.”
“In fact, in the next two-three years, the prices of solar pumps would fall to such an extent that there would be need for subsidies”, Prof Shah said, adding, “With virtually no maintenance cost if properly cleaned up on a regular basis, the farmers would be attracted to use as much groundwater as they want, and even well it.”
“Clearly, the haphazard installation of pumps would lead to a sharp rise in groundwater depletion”, he said, adding, “I drew the attention of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about it, as also officials of the water resources and power ministries. However, none appear keen to come to grips with the problem. State governments seem equally oblivion.”
Solution: Pointing towards the need to urgently look for the solution which IWMI has found on an experimental basis, Prof Shah said, “In Dhundi village in Anand district, we have formed, with the help of Amul, a cooperative of the farmers using solar pumps, with the state-owned power distribution company, Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL), buying up any extra power which farmers produce from solar pump after using groundwater for irrigation. As of July 31, the farmers sold 5,097 units of electricity the MGVCL, which agreed to pay them Rs 4.63 per unit.”
“These units could have been used to pump an additional 25 million litres of groundwater, but as it was more profitable for the farmers sell power to MGVCL grid, they opted for the latter”, Prof Shah said, adding, “Before the cooperative, farmers were using diesel pumps which have now been replaced by solar pumps.”
“We believe, the farmers should be offered Rs 7 or Rs 7.50 per unit, so that evacuating power produced from solar pumps becomes even more attractive”, Prof Shah said, adding, “If this happens, the possibility of achieving the National Solar Mission aim of reaching 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022 would become very easy, pushing to the backdrop rooftop solar systems and MW-scale solar power plants.”

Comments

sekhar said…

Interesting article. Is there any info on Maharashtra state scheme on promoting solar pumps?

August 31, 2016

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Search This Blog