




































Ecology, Economy, and Society–the INSEE Journal 8(1): 77-98, January 2025 

RESEARCH PAPER 
 

Addressing Depletion in Alluvial Aquifers: Why 
Context Matters in Participatory Groundwater 
Management 
 

Partik Kumar , Veena Srinivasan  
 
Abstract: India has one of the highest rates of groundwater extraction in the 
world, with depletion rates increasingly becoming a concern. The vast alluvial 
aquifers of the Indo-Gangetic Plain are vital for the country’s food security and 
livelihoods of millions. However, abstraction far exceeds natural recharge, resulting 
in a gradual decline. The hard-rock aquifers of peninsular India are also subjected 
to over-exploitation. But in these low-storage aquifers, it manifests as seasonal 
emptying and filling. In recent years, policy attention has shifted from supply-side 
approaches such as watershed management to demand-side measures such as 
participatory groundwater management under Atal Bhujal Yojana. However, the 
current strategies do not account for differences in geology. We argue that the 
management processes that worked in peninsular Indian hard-rock systems may 
not be suitable for alluvial aquifers, so a different approach is needed. To make this 
case, we draw on Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development framework for 
the management of common-pool resources. We argue that the characteristics of 
groundwater resources, the socioeconomic attributes of uses and users, and the 
rules governing use framed by existing institutions and agrarian policies are the 
distinguishing features to be considered in building solutions for alluvial aquifers.   
 
Keywords: Participatory Groundwater Management, Alluvial Aquifers, Indo-
Gangetic Plain, Atal Bhujal Yojana, Agriculture, Livelihood, Sustainability 

 
 
 

                                                      
 Ph.D. scholar, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York 

YO10 5DD, United Kingdom; pkunj5512@gmail.com  

 Executive Director, WELL (Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods) Labs, c/o 
Devatha Silks House, No. 9, First floor, Krishna Road, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560004, 
Karnataka, India;. veena.srinivasan@ifmr.ac.in  

Copyright © Kumar and Srinivasan 2025. Released under Creative Commons Attribution © 
NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0) by the author.  

Published by Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), c/o Institute of Economic 
Growth, University Enclave, North Campus, Delhi 110007.  

ISSN: 2581–6152 (print); 2581–6101 (web).  

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v8i1.1122  

mailto:pkunj5512@gmail.com
mailto:veena.srinivasan@ifmr.ac.in
https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v8i1.1122


Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [78] 

1. INTRODUCTION 

Groundwater is an essential resource for humans and ecosystems globally; it 
provides drinking water for billions of people, supports agricultural 
production, and sustains aquatic habitats through dry-season flows. 
However, the unsustainable use of groundwater, coupled with the changing 
climate and erratic rainfall patterns, has led to the depletion and degradation 
of groundwater resources in many parts of the world. 

Globally, India leads in terms of groundwater extraction, and groundwater 
depletion is becoming a more pressing concern. Most of the demand for 
drinking, domestic use, and agricultural use water in India is met by 
groundwater. But both the quality and the quantity of groundwater in India 
are under threat. In 2004, a total of 1,615 assessment units out of 5,723 
units were reported to be semi-critical, critical, or over-exploited in terms of 
groundwater development. By 2022, the number had risen to 2,151 units. 
During the same period, the number of assessment units classified as saline 
increased from 30 to 158 (CGWB 2004; 2022). 

Continued groundwater depletion in India could have devastating impacts 
on food and livelihood security. Recent modelling studies have shown that 
food grain production could decline by 20% nationwide and by 68% in 
groundwater-depleted regions (Jain et al. 2021). 

The depleting of groundwater resources has caught the attention of 
practitioners as well as policymakers. Over the past few decades, numerous 
efforts have been made by the government as well as non-governmental 
organizations to restore the health of groundwater resources. Despite these 
massive investments, the underlying groundwater problem has not been 
addressed. 

While most current and earlier programmes, such as Jal Shakti Abhiyan and 
watershed development programmes, have focused on supply-side 
measures, in recent years, the attention has shifted to demand-side 
programmes. This shift has emerged from the recognition that many river 
basins are now closed, in the sense that all the available water is already 
being used. Further investments in impounding water upstream may merely 
result in declining amounts of water for downstream users (Molle, Wester, 
and Hirsch 2010). 

Currently, there are two primary approaches to demand-side management 
programmes: (1) economic incentive–based schemes such as Pani Bachao 
Paise Kamao Yojana and PM Kusum Yojana, which aim to change the 
behaviours of individual abstractors, and (2) participatory groundwater 



[79] Kumar and Srinivasan 

management (PGWM)–based efforts such as Atal Jal Yojana, which rely on 
communities collectively agreeing on norms for abstraction. 

PGWM was preceded in the 1990s by schemes such as the Andhra Pradesh 
Farmer Managed Groundwater System, Managed Aquifer Recharge through 
Village-level Intervention, and later a consortium supported by the 
Arghyam Foundation. The underlying hypothesis was that since 
groundwater is a shared resource, addressing the problem collectively will 
lead to collective benefits. 

PGWM interventions tend to balance both demand-side and supply-side 
measures. However, the specific management approaches used by 
communities have varied across regions (Rangan 2016). For instance, in 
Andhra Pradesh, the focus was on participatory crop water budgeting and 
borewell pooling. These efforts yielded tangible advantages such as assured 
protective irrigation and enhanced farm income (Ramachandrudu 2015). In 
the district of Kachchh in Gujarat, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) 
emerged as the primary management intervention, leading to improved 
water quality (RGICS 2023). In parts of Maharashtra, PGWM involved 
comprehensive bans on borewells, with a sole focus on promoting the use 
of open wells for irrigation (Aslekar, Kulkarni, and Upmanyu 2013). 

In 2019, the PGWM approach was adopted in a national programme 
named Atal Bhujal Yojana, which became one of the largest groundwater 
management schemes in the country. This was the first time that this 
approach was practised at scale. The programme, still ongoing, includes 
institutional and technological components as two important aspects of 
natural resources management (Bringezu et al. 2016; Van Noordwijk 2019). 
These components are represented in the programme as ‘groundwater 
budgeting’ and ‘user collectives’, respectively. 

Groundwater budgeting is an exercise in assessing and planning 
groundwater resources and uses at the gram panchayat level. The 
groundwater balance is derived by calculating its availability and utilization. 
Based on the water balance, prospective demand- and supply-side activities 
are planned and implemented. Users’ collectives are village-level institutions 
formed by the community where members work together to develop rules 
and regulations for the self-management of groundwater. By involving 
community members in the decision-making process, users’ collectives 
ensure that the needs of all users are taken into account and that the 
management of groundwater resources is equitable and sustainable. In 
addition, users’ collectives can facilitate the sharing of knowledge and 
resources among community members. 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [80] 

In this article, we argue that PGWM needs to be designed based on an 
understanding of individual and collective incentives to comply. India is 
geologically very diverse, and there is a need for solutions that are “fit for 
purpose”. Though the use of both kinds of incentives have been 
demonstrated successfully in hard-rock aquifers, there has been some 
concern that they may not work in alluvial aquifers (Srinivasan 2022). While 
these programmes have been attempted on a pilot basis, there are barriers 
to scaling, especially in alluvial aquifer systems, which pose specific 
problems. 

Management approaches that worked in peninsular Indian hard-rock 
systems may not be suitable for the management of groundwater in alluvial 
aquifers; hence, a different approach is needed. To make our case, we draw 
on Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework for 
the management of common-pool resources (CPR). The characteristics of 
groundwater resources, the socioeconomic attributes of uses and users, and 
the rules governing use framed by existing institutions and agrarian policies 
are the distinguishing features to be considered in building solutions for 
alluvial aquifers. 

 

2. FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS OF COMMON-POOL 
RESOURCES 

The IAD framework is particularly useful for analysing groundwater 
management in alluvial aquifers because it provides a structured approach 
for examining the complex interactions between biophysical conditions, 
community attributes, and institutional rules. By focusing on how these 
factors influence individual and collective behaviours, the framework allows 
for a more nuanced understanding of the challenges faced in managing 
CPR such as groundwater in the Indian context. 

2.1. The IAD Framework 

According to the IAD framework, three factors—biophysical conditions, 
community attributes, and the rules in use—influence the behaviours of 
individuals and groups in the context of management and policy initiatives 
that pertain to alluvial versus hard-rock systems (Ostrom et al. 1994; Schoon 
and Van der Leeuw 2015). 

Biophysical conditions refer to the natural and physical characteristics of a 
particular environment or ecosystem. They play a crucial role in shaping the 
social and economic activities of the human communities that come in 
contact with them. Within the IAD framework, understanding the 
biophysical conditions of a particular ecosystem is important for identifying 



[81] Kumar and Srinivasan 

the potential challenges and opportunities in sustainable resource 
management. 

Community attributes refer to the social, economic, and cultural 
characteristics of the individuals and groups who interact with a particular 
resource system. The IAD framework emphasizes the importance of taking 
into account the diversity of community attributes when designing 
institutional arrangements. Understanding the attributes of a community is 
essential for creating effective institutional systems that promote sustainable 
resource management. 

Rules in use refer to the actual, observed set of rules and regulations that 
are applied by actors within a resource system. By understanding the 
complex and dynamic nature of the rules in use within a particular resource 
system, it is possible to design institutional arrangements that are better 
aligned with the actual behaviours of individuals and groups within that 
system. 

In keeping with the IAD framework, the drivers and distinguishing features 
of alluvial aquifers can be categorized in three ways—first, by the 
characteristics of groundwater resources (Figure 1); second, by the 
socioeconomic attributes of uses and users; and third, by the prevalent rules 
framed by existing institutions (Table 1). 

Figure 1: The Contrasting Biophysical Conditions of Alluvial and Hard-Rock 
Aquifers 

 

Source: Authors 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [82] 

Table 1: The Drivers and Distinguishing Features of Alluvial Aquifers and Hard-
Rock Aquifers in Accordance with the IAD Framework 

Key Areas 
as per the 
IAD 
Framework 

Associated 
Attributes 

Performance in 
the Context of 
Alluvial Aquifer 
Development 

Performance in the 
Context of Hard-
Rock Aquifer 
Development 

Influence over 
Management of 
Alluvial Aquifers 

Biophysical 
conditions 

Spread of 
the aquifer 

Spread across 
hundreds of 
kilometres in 
length and 
breadth 

Spread across a few 
kilometres or just a 
few metres in length 
and breadth 

Impact on the 
individual is 
insignificant. 

Users are 
unaware of their 
interdependence. 

They also do not 
perceive their 
connection to 
natural 
phenomena such 
as rainfall 
fluctuations. 

This hinders 
local aquifer 
governance and 
the ability to 
build aquifer 
communities 

Size of the 
aquifer 

High storativity; 
yield and depth 
to water table 
do not change 
significantly in 
response to 
abstraction 

Relatively low 
storativity; over-
abstracting causes 
deep cones of 
depression 

Sensitivity 
to 
abstraction 

Lowering the 
water table does 
not impact the 
amount of 
extraction 
drastically 

Lowering the water 
table drastically 
impacts the amount 
of extraction; 
tubewells even go 
dry in the dry season 

Response 
time and 
sensitivity 
to rainfall 

Groundwater is 
stored over 
centuries and 
even millennia; 
the water table 
does not 
fluctuate much 
seasonally or 
inter-annually in 
response to 
rainfall 

Annually 
replenishable; water 
table fluctuates with 
rainfall 

Attributes 
of the 
community 

Resource-
rich 
stakeholders 

The users are 
relatively richer 
in terms of 
landholding and 
inter-
generational 
wealth 

The users are 
relatively poorer in 
terms of landholding 
and inter-
generational wealth 

Private interests 
and resource 
richness hinder 
participatory 
management 
Crop choice is 
influenced by the 



[83] Kumar and Srinivasan 

Absentee 
landlord 
and tenants 

Almost all 
landowners 
have borewells, 
including 
absentee 
landlords who 
migrate to cities; 
a considerable 
portion of the 
land is managed 
by tenants, and 
the lease terms 
tend to stipulate 
fixed annual 
payments 

Because water is 
scarce, borewell 
owners are more 
likely to stay within 
the community and 
lease rain-fed land; 
absentee landlords 
tend to be non-
borewell-owning 
farmers of rain-fed 
land who lease their 
land out, and the 
lease terms may be 
fixed or based on 
crop-share 

agrarian market 
and procurement 
policies 

The 
agrarian 
market is 
the driver 

The prevalent 
water-guzzling 
cropping system 
exists mainly 
because of the 
favourable 
market, input 
subsidy, and 
assured price of 
production 

Predominantly rain-
fed agriculture, 
which lacks the 
support of the 
market, input 
subsidies, and 
assured price of 
production 

Rules in use 

Absence of 
stakeholder  
institutions 

No significant 
groundwater 
user institution 
exists 

A long history of 
community-led 
water management 
and presence of user 
institutions; where 
there is strong local 
leadership, the 
community is able 
to exert sanctions on 
users who do not 
comply with 
collectively agreed-
upon cropping 
choices 

The absence of 
local 
groundwater 
institutions 
leaves a gap in 
collective action 

Source: Summarized based on Ostrom et al. (1994), Shah (2009), Fishman 
et al. (2011), CGWB (2012), Directorate of Economics and Statistics (2018), 
and Srinivasan (2022). 

 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [84] 

For the purposes of this article, we are primarily contrasting alluvial and 
hard-rock aquifers from the perspective of PGWM. However, in fact, there 
are several typologies even within the Indo-Gangetic alluvial aquifer 
systems (Bonsor et al. 2017), which reflect varying geology, aquifer 
permeability, specific yield, groundwater chemistry (presence of arsenic and 
salinity), and recharge processes. Our arguments in this article are 
specifically confined to the over-abstracted aquifers of the “middle Indus 
and upper Ganges” typology (Bonsor et al. 2017), comprising Haryana, 
Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan. 

 

3. BIOPHYSICAL CONDITIONS 

In analysing the biophysical conditions under which groundwater 
institutions operate, we need to understand the nature of aquifers in India. 
Aquifers are created over millions of years, but there are broadly three 
different ways in which they emerge. The origins of aquifers determine the 
biophysical conditions of groundwater flow. 

An alluvial aquifer is composed of unconsolidated material deposited by 
rivers over millions of years. Alluvial aquifers are generally composed of 
sand, gravel, or similar unconsolidated material deposited by running water 
(Earle and Panchuk 2015). The Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains, 
popularly known as the Great Plains of India (CGWB 2012), are underlain 
by alluvial aquifers (Figure 2a). Extensive groundwater development and 
depletion are especially visible in Haryana, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh, 
and parts of Rajasthan, and they have been widely documented as hotspots 
(Rodell, Velicogna, and Famiglietti 2009) (Figure 2b). 

In contrast, a hard-rock aquifer or crystalline-rock aquifer emerges from 
volcanic or igneous rock formations that have undergone weathering 
processes over a long period of time. Sometimes, the alluvium may get 
consolidated due to the sedimentation process and become sedimentary 
rock, such as the sandstone aquifer in Rajasthan (CGWB 2019). For the 
sake of simplicity, in this article, we will broadly distinguish between the 
unconsolidated layers of sand and clay sediments that characterize the 
alluvial aquifers of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the consolidated hard-rock 
aquifers of peninsular India. 

According to the national compilation of dynamic groundwater resources in 
India (CGWB 2022), 1,006 assessment units are over-exploited and half of 
them lie over alluvial aquifers. Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan are the only 
states in the country where groundwater development is more than 100%. 
These states represent a “groundwater depletion hotspot”, with 95% of 
India’s depletion occurring here (Dangar and Mishra 2023). 



[85] Kumar and Srinivasan 

Figure 2: (a) Aquifer Classification Map of India (b) Groundwater Development 
Stage Map of India 

Note: Most of the over-exploited groundwater units in India are part of an 
unconsolidated aquifer system. 
Source: CGWB (2022). Data are from CGWB, consolidated by WELL Labs. 

(a) 

 
(b) 

 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [86] 

On one hand, these states extract more groundwater than is recharged in an 
annual cycle. On the other, they contribute significantly to India’s food 
grain production, and thus, food security. Furthermore, groundwater-based 
irrigated agriculture contributes significantly to livelihoods in these states 
(Scott and Sharma 2009). At present, 71.6% of Punjab’s and 63.3% of 
Haryana’s net areas under irrigation receive water from groundwater 
sources (DESA Haryana 2023; DESO Punjab 2023), and the majority of 
them belong to small and medium farmers. 

Because the alluvial aquifer regions of Haryana and Punjab are critical for 
India’s food security, the depletion of groundwater resources in these areas 
could have an adverse impact on food grain production (Bhattarai et al. 
2021; Sarkar 2012). Furthermore, the groundwater resources in this region 
are highly significant from the standpoint of drinking water security and 
industrial growth, as the share of agriculture in India’s gross domestic 
product is shrinking and is being replaced by that of the manufacturing and 
services industries. 

Effective management of alluvial aquifers is an urgent necessity. Further, it 
is important to list the distinguishing as well as vital attributes of alluvial 
aquifers and the challenges associated with them in order to understand 
how they differ from the hard-rock aquifers of South India. 

3.1 Spread of the Aquifer  

To make an impactful intervention in the management of a CPR, the 
intervention should be carried out across the CPR unit (i.e., the aquifer). 

A typical alluvial aquifer is spread across hundreds of kilometres in length 
and breadth and has a depth of up to a few hundred metres (CGWB 2015; 
Fishman et al. 2011; Saha, Dhar, and Vittala 2010). This means that it covers 
multiple administrative boundaries (gram panchayats, blocks, districts, and 
even states), serves various types of users (farmers, urban habitations, 
industries, riverine ecosystems, etc.), and could be exposed to different 
environmental conditions. 

In contrast, a hard-rock system spreads over a smaller geographical area, 
often within a gram panchayat. Users have a sense of the aquifer boundaries 
and can observe the effects of abstraction by their neighbours. The user 
community is thus identifiable, and relatively easily so. 

3.2 Size of the Aquifer 

The cost of reversing depletion is much higher in alluvial aquifers. 
Groundwater depletion in alluvial systems is likely to be largely irreversible. 



[87] Kumar and Srinivasan 

Alluvial aquifers are generally composed of silt, sand, gravel, or similar 
unconsolidated material, which means they have relatively more porous 
space and a high specific yield and storativity (CGWB 2015; Earle and 
Panchuk 2015; Shah 2009). They can store a lot of water, which can be a 
great boon as well as a bane. A lot of water can be extracted from an 
alluvial aquifer, but once it is empty, it would need an equally high amount 
of water to replenish it. In an era when every drop of freshwater is laid 
claim to, the likelihood of being able to secure large volumes of water to 
recharge an aquifer is very low. Furthermore, in some cases, the sediments 
get compressed, causing localized land subsidence along with a reduction in 
aquifer capacity. 

3.3 Sensitivity to Extraction  

The sensitivity of alluvial systems to extraction is very different from that of 
hard-rock systems. In alluvial aquifers, groundwater extraction per unit of 
time remains relatively stable (Fishman et al. 2011; Kumar 2018; Shah 2009). 
In part because of the high productive capacity of the aquifer, the water 
table tends to drop gradually and is not very responsive to abstraction. 

Although the per-unit cost of extraction increases with the lowering of the 
water table, it does not significantly affect the amount of water extracted 
(Sarkar 2012). In some cases, the increased cost of extraction may even be 
compensated by the higher income earned per unit of groundwater. In 
general, the awareness and attention of users with regard to the depletion of 
resources is low, leading to negligible interest in corrective measures (Shah 
2009). 

In a hard-rock system, on the other hand, the water table tends to decline 
rapidly in response to abstraction because the aquifer productivity is low. 
This, at times, even results in the complete drying of the aquifer locally. 
This means that users are acutely aware of resource limits and are open to 
taking corrective action. 

3.4 Response Time and Sensitivity to Rainfall 

In most over-exploited areas, groundwater is pumped from 
deeper/confined aquifers. The literature suggests that the water in these 
aquifers has been accumulated over centuries and even millennia. However, 
the fossil groundwater is at risk of being extracted in just a few decades or 
even less (IIT Kharagpur 2015; Green 2016). In contrast, hard-rock aquifers 
fill and empty every year. They respond quickly to rainfall, which isn’t the 
case with alluvial aquifers. 

The lack of connection between rainfall and water levels in alluvial systems, 
and the decadal timescale of depletion, increases the chances of lock-in of 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [88] 

unsustainable systems. Because the impacts of groundwater depletion are 
not directly felt, farmers may grow water-intensive crops for one or two 
generations, leading to permanent cultural and economic shifts. 

 

4. ATTRIBUTES OF THE COMMUNITY (USERS) 

In the IAD framework, community attributes refer to the social, economic, 
and cultural characteristics that influence how individuals interact with and 
manage common resources. These attributes are crucial for understanding 
the community’s capacity and motivation to participate in collective action, 
such as managing groundwater resources in alluvial aquifers. 

Farmers who live in the alluvial aquifer regions of northwestern India are 
relatively resource-rich; they own larger landholdings with higher 
agricultural productivity, which complicates PGWM efforts. Additionally, 
state policies promoting water-intensive crops have led to the entrenchment 
of this agricultural system, leading to significant groundwater depletion and 
minimal motivation for farmers to alter their practices. 

4.1 Resource-rich Stakeholders 

Because of the unique attributes of alluvial aquifers, abstraction tends to 
occur irrespective of the amount of rainfall and over many decades. As a 
result, farming communities in alluvial aquifer regions tend to be richer. 
They benefit from higher productivity per unit of land area as well as higher 
income per household. 

About 90% of the total groundwater extracted from alluvial aquifers is used 
in agriculture (CGWB 2022). According to the agricultural census, the 
average landholding in Haryana and Punjab is almost thrice the national 
average (Agricultural Census Division 2019). Also, the average yield in these 
two states is higher than the national average. Furthermore, the average 
monthly receipt for crop production per agricultural household is 
approximately four times higher than the national average (Directorate of 
Economics and Statistics 2018). In contrast, farmers living in the hard-rock 
aquifer regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh have 
relatively smaller landholdings. Also, the average income is lower as 
compared with Haryana and Punjab farmers. 

Mancur Olson’s collective action theory states that private interests and 
resource richness lead to the problem of free riders and thus hinder 
participatory management (Petrosyan 2017). Thus, considering users’ 
relative wealth in alluvial aquifer regions and the massive economic 
advantage of abstracting, attempting PGWM would be an onerous task. 



[89] Kumar and Srinivasan 

4.2 Absentee Landlord and Tenants 

Communities with a high number of absentee landlords may lack a sense of 
ownership of the collective resource. A significant section of the 
operational area is leased in the states with alluvial aquifers. In Punjab and 
Haryana, the percentage of operational area that is leased is 15.2% and 26%, 
respectively (Bansal, Usami, and Rawal 2018). Also, in 82% of cases, the 
terms of the lease stipulate fixed payments. Due to the combined effect of 
these two factors, tenants’ primary interests lie in increasing financial output 
rather than the sustainability of groundwater resources. 

While absentee landlords are not unique to alluvial systems, there is a 
difference. In peninsular India, typically, only a fraction of the land in any 
village is irrigated as groundwater is scarce. So, absentee landlords tend to 
be farmers who own rain-fed land and lease it out to borewell owners. 
Often, these borewell owners remain in the village and continue to have a 
stake in the sustainability of groundwater resources. 

4.3 The Agrarian Market Is the Driver 

Analysis of the data shows that the cultivation of water-intensive crops is 
driven by the existing procurement regime (Sarkar 2020). Historically, 
water-intensive crops such as rice and wheat were not the primary crops in 
Haryana and Punjab. In Punjab, in 1960–1961, rice and wheat were 
cultivated on 6% and 37% of the net area sown, respectively. By 2020–
2021, rice and wheat cultivation had increased to 68% and 86% of the net 
area sown, respectively (DESO Punjab 2023). In Haryana, in 1966–1967, 
rice and wheat were cultivated on 6% and 22% of the net area sown, 
respectively; this increased to 42% and 65% of the net area sown, 
respectively, by 2020–2021 (DESA Haryana 2023). In both states, the net 
sown area itself did not increase much over this period. The increase in the 
cultivation of water-intensive crops was mainly achieved by replacing less 
water-intensive crops such as millets and pulses. The increased water 
demand for these crops over the years has been met primarily by 
groundwater resources (Gupta 2021). The state-subsidized electricity policy 
acted as a catalyst in this transition (Sarkar and Das 2014). 

The widespread adoption of water-intensive crops in these areas can be 
attributed to market forces, input subsidies, and assured-price policies such 
as the minimum support price (MSP). As the procurement at the MSP is 
primarily for water-intensive crops such as wheat and paddy, farmers—who 
tend to follow risk-minimizing rather than profit-maximizing practices—
naturally prefer to cultivate these crops (Sharma et al. 2018). Of the total 
procurement of rice and wheat in the country, the combined share of 
Haryana and Punjab is 38% and 76%, respectively (Directorate of 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [90] 

Economics and Statistics 2018). Given the state support for these crops, the 
market ecosystem for credit, pesticides, fertilisers, and seeds has evolved in 
response, and this has created a lock-in of sorts. The cost of switching 
crops, even if a farmer wished to do so, would be steep. 

These agrarian policies and market support has culminated in a drastic 
increase in the water-intensive cropping system, which in the long run, has 
led to the depletion of groundwater resources. This trend can be reversed 
only if the agrarian system as a whole were to change, altering individual 
farmers’ incentives. There is no evidence to suggest that farmers would 
change their cropping decisions based on a collective decision, as PGWM 
requires.  

 

5. THE INFLUENCING RULES 

Groundwater being a CPR, it is vital to include users in its sustainable 
management. Also, groundwater requires a user-level institution to manage 
it and sustain collective action. According to the IAD framework, the 
institution should be at a scale that includes all users, and it should oversee 
both micro-level planning and regulation. 

5.1. Absence of User Institutions 

At present, there is no significant user institution in place to deal with the 
challenges of groundwater management in alluvial aquifer regions. 
Institutions such as water users’ associations (WUAs) and village water and 
sanitation committees do exist, but these institutions are either defunct or 
lack the institutional capacities to take up the role of groundwater 
management (Chaudhuri et al. 2021; Kantar Public 2022). 

There are two additional types of institutions that are relevant to the socio-
political and water–agriculture domains in northwestern India. First, the 
warabandi1 system and WUAs manage canal water distribution, but they are 
limited to surface water management, largely excluding groundwater 
(Narain 2008). Despite their established role, they do not directly engage 
with groundwater regulation under programmes such as PGWM. 

                                                      
1 A traditional system of rotational water allocation in irrigation canals, commonly 
used in South Asia, particularly in northern India and Pakistan, to distribute water 
equitably among farmers based on a predetermined schedule. 



[91] Kumar and Srinivasan 

Second, farmers’ unions (e.g., kisan sabha) and khap2 panchayats are 
powerful sociopolitical entities advocating for farmers’ interests. While they 
played a key role in the 2021 farmer protests (Chatterjee 2024; Punia 2022), 
their focus remains on immediate economic benefits, such as free electricity 
for agriculture, rather than long-term groundwater sustainability (Gaon 
Connection 2020). Though not formally integrated into groundwater 
governance structures such as PGWM, these sociopolitical institutions offer 
significant research potential. Understanding their role in either supporting 
or resisting ecological sustainability, alongside factors such as class, caste, 
and gender dynamics, could provide key insights into groundwater 
governance across different aquifer systems. 

The absence of user institutions suggests that the currently uptake of 
PGWM is entirely dependent on farmer self-interest. Whereas in the case of 
hard-rock aquifers, farmers are able to perceive the impact of not acting 
collectively, and thus are motivated to collectivize, no such “natural” 
driving factor exists for alluvial systems. While farmer self-interest is a 
significant factor in explaining the lack of effective user institutions, broader 
sociohistorical and policy factors may also have played a role (Agrawal 
1994; Bardhan 2000). The historical context, combined with the influence 
of caste structures and government policies, may have influenced the lack 
of social cohesion and collective action in groundwater management. These 
factors may further complicate the formation and sustainability of user 
institutions. 

 

6. DISCUSSION 

Contemporary efforts to address depletion in alluvial aquifers have focused 
on either the watershed management approach (supply-side) or PGWM 
(demand-side). Interestingly, both approaches originated in the context of 
hard-rock aquifer systems, but they are being recommended for the 
management of all types of aquifer systems. 

The whole concept of PGWM is premised on the idea that farmers have an 
incentive to comply with collective cropping and irrigation decisions. But 
this approach is failing to deliver results in the alluvial aquifer systems of 
North India (Kumar 2023). The IAD analysis suggests that the massive 
physical spread of alluvial aquifers across multiple states, along with the lack 
of accuracy, efficacy, and adaptability in water budgeting methods, has 

                                                      
2 A customary socio-political assembly common in northern India, particularly in 
Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, known for adjudicating local disputes and 
enforcing traditional social codes within rural communities. 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [92] 

caused this issue. The aquifer’s biophysical conditions as well as the 
attributes of the community create hindrances for collective action. The 
users are unaware of their interdependence and lack the willingness to form 
an aquifer committee, either to secure the groundwater or to manage it 
sustainably (Shah 2009). 

A single alluvial aquifer is usually shared by thousands of villages and 
millions of users. Even if a few villages decide to lower extraction, 
groundwater may still be drawn by neighbouring villages. Furthermore, 
alluvial aquifers do not experience much short-term fluctuations. Over-
exploitation, driven by agrarian policies, does not create an immediate crisis 
for users. Even if a group of users in one village wished to engage in 
collective action, they would not be effective in controlling the decline of 
the water table. Nor would it be profitable for them to do so without a 
fundamental change in electricity and farming system incentives. 

A combined analysis of resource characteristics and socioeconomic 
attributes suggests that the current approach of PGWM may not work in 
alluvial aquifers. Thus, a scheme such as Atal Jal Yojana, which is based on 
the PGWM system that was designed for the hard-rock aquifer systems of 
peninsular India (World Bank 2018), is likely to fail. If communities do not 
perceive the benefits of cooperation, they are unlikely to self-regulate in an 
isolated manner. External regulators need to set limits on groundwater 
abstraction for the whole system. However, this does not mean that 
PGWM has no role to play in alluvial aquifers. Communities may still be 
best positioned to enforce an abstraction limit in a participatory manner, 
provided the limit is set externally by a regulator. 

The arguments presented in this article focus on groundwater quantity. 
However, the quality of groundwater can also contribute to the success of 
PGWM. For instance, in the coastal alluvial aquifers of Gujarat and Tamil 
Nadu, water quality rather than quantity is the limiting factor. Arid 
Communities and Technologies, a professional organization in Gujarat, has 
undertaken interventions in aquifers where the groundwater gets 
increasingly saline at depth (RGICS 2023). Here, farmers can and do 
perceive immediate benefits from localized improvements in water quality 
through MAR and controls on abstraction and thus have an incentive to 
cooperate. 

 

7. CONCLUSION 

The groundwater crisis in India has not been sufficiently examined. There 
are very few solutions designed to address the challenges posed by the 



[93] Kumar and Srinivasan 

alluvial aquifers of Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The CGWB, India’s 
main groundwater management body, has compiled a compendium of best 
practices and solutions, containing hundreds of case studies (CGWB 2023). 
Likewise, the NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think-tank of the 
Government of India, recently released a compendium of best practices in 
water management in India (NITI Aayog 2021). This compendium has 
sections with case studies from the groundwater and agriculture domains. 
But in both compendiums, there are no case studies on the alluvial aquifers 
of Haryana and Punjab or similar typologies. 

Alluvial aquifers play an important role in the lives and livelihoods of 
millions of farmers in India. Importantly, they are also critical for the 
country’s food security. Policies and practices that evolved from the Green 
Revolution explicitly aim at exploiting these aquifers. While they were 
responsible for raising millions out of poverty, these policies are now a 
threat to livelihoods. They have locked these north-western states into rice 
and wheat cropping systems that have an evapo-transpirative demand far 
above annual rainfall. These policies are now causes for concern as 
groundwater tables drop. Sustainable groundwater governance of alluvial 
aquifer systems is the need of the hour. However, caution is required as 
well: alluvial aquifers are different from the hard-rock systems of peninsular 
India. 

Policy reforms that ignore the local context are doomed to failure (Polski 
and Ostrom 1999). Understanding how user behaviour changes in different 
types of aquifer systems is key to solving this problem (Srinivasan 2022). It 
is important that policymakers consider the groundwater resource 
characteristics and the socioeconomic attributes of users in alluvial aquifer 
regions and how they contrast with those in hard-rock aquifer regions. This 
requires interdisciplinary teams. While hydrogeologists obviously 
understand these differences well, they may not be familiar with 
institutional design principles in the context of CPR. In other words, it is 
not enough to mandate collective decision-making; biophysical and 
socioeconomic conditions must also be conducive. 

There needs to be dedicated investment in research and innovation to 
derive solutions as well as build proof of concepts, drawing on diverse 
expertise. Furthermore, the agrarian system should be considered central 
and should evolve by enhancing natural resources without compromising 
the well-being of farmers. Recently, Haryana started the Mera Paani Meri 
Virasat scheme to shift cultivation from paddy to non-paddy crops by 
providing financial incentives and institutional support to farmers. More 
such efforts should be initiated at a larger scale with systematic support. 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [94] 

However, the focus should be on contextual design rather than copy-
pasting solutions from one region to another. 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Our study has greatly benefitted from insightful discussions with 
Bishwadeep Ghose, the country director of Water for People, India, Manu 
Srivastava, the Chief Operating Officer of Arghyam, and Kulvinder Singh, 
Research Analyst, Centre for Economic Data and Analysis – Ashoka 
University. Their valuable inputs and expertise have enriched our research. 
However, we take full responsibility for any errors or omissions in this 
article. 

Ethics Statement: We hereby confirm that this study complies with 
requirements of ethical approvals from the institutional ethics committee 
for the conduct of this research.   

Data Availability statement: Secondary data is used in this paper. Sources 
for secondary data used have been given against respective figures and 
tables. 

Conflict of Interest Statement: No potential conflict of interest was 
reported by the author. 

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