LAHORE: As the deadline for applications under the Punjab Chief Minister’s tubewell solarization scheme ends on Monday, the department is already overwhelmed by the huge number of applications as more than 450,000 have been received so far.
Under the plan, Punjab would subsidize 8,000 tubewells to switch to solar energy in the first phase and another 10,000 tubewells with the help of the federal government in the second phase. About 67 per cent of the cost would come from the provincial government and the rest from farmers.
There is confusion over eligibility criteria, which indicates how quickly the plan is conceived and implemented.
Today the deadline for free solar registration ends
The department concerned says there are only two criteria: the applicant must have one acre of land and be a resident of Punjab. The official website, on the other hand, puts six requirements: limit the power requirement of the tubewell to 15kW, depth to the water table of 60 feet and installed before March 31, 2024. This is in addition to the proof of residency within of the province and income of the area.
Earthly realities
Aside from this confusion, the plan has also reignited debate among water experts about what it would mean for the provincial aquifer, which is already rapidly depleting, threatening agriculture, food security and life itself. Those who favor the project draw their support from the deterioration of socioeconomic conditions in agricultural areas and the small relief it could provide in the short term.
Critics, who are many and equally vocal, oppose it on technical grounds and long-term impact, advocating aligning “populism with ground realities” before conceiving and implementing such initiatives. They argue that rather than mitigating the impact of climate change, the project could actually make it worse by further destroying the aquifer. The debate continues alongside implementation: the first application stage expires on Monday.
Water table, extraction cost
“By making water extraction free, the province runs the risk of worsening the reality of the subsoil,” admits an irrigation official, who did not want to be identified due to the political sensitivity of the project: the plan is linked to the office of the prime minister and being monitored from there.
Farmers, especially smaller ones, would not only draw water for themselves but could also sell it to neighbors. High diesel prices and exorbitant electricity prices have acted as a deterrent, forcing farmers to pump water just to meet minimum irrigation requirements. Once this restriction is removed, they may choose to over-spin, tipping the scales even further; He fears that the difference between minimum needs and careless withdrawal will mean a lot in the miserable regime of scarcity that Punjab is facing.
Rana Tajmal Hussain, director general of water management and responsible for the programme, admits the continuous degradation of water levels, but does not relate it to the mode of energy used for extraction.
“With or without solar power, farmers have been pumping water to meet their needs. Provincial irrigation was planned for 65 per cent land use at the beginning of the last century, a figure that has now increased to 300 per cent. Even if 200% is taken as an average, 135% of water already comes from the ground, the main cause of aquifer depletion.
“This is the first solar initiative, but the groundwater has been decreasing and has reached the level it is at now. Therefore, it is not appropriate to link it to solar energy. But yes, the province needs a ‘groundwater management plan’ and an institutional mechanism to implement it. It is the absence of such a plan that has led to a situation where even a small change in the mode of power for operation of tube wells is raising fears. Only a management plan with its legal, social and institutional implications could help prevent groundwater depletion and that is where the debate should focus,” suggests the Director General.
Social spirit, without any impact.
For their part, farmers think that the CM’s solar initiative should be taken in a social spirit: a bid to help farmers, nothing more, and that it has no impact. “The province has more than 1.3 million tube wells. Even taking into account over-extraction, what difference can 8,000 tubewells make?” asks Naeem Hotiana, a farmer in central Punjab. A recent survey found that more than 47,000 tubewells have already gone solar. Thus, the process is already underway, regardless of the official scheme, and will continue. It is beneficial for farmers who have up to 12 acres due to its restricted daylight limitations, smaller size of tube wells, and efficiency-reducing winters. Added to this are problems such as the theft of equipment that is left in the field unattended. However, they found a solution in mobile solar units, where they mount them on a cart, take them to the location, and bring them home. The government seems to have woken up to a process that was already underway, rather than leading it, he explains. He suggests that the government allow net metering of these tubewells and allow them to sell the excess power to the distribution company concerned.
Dr Mohsin Hafeez, director of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), also underlines the need for an elaborate water management regime rather than fearing a subsoil disaster when he tells Dawn that his institute has already developed a system to measure the size and suitability of solar energy (tube well). for different areas of the province, evaluation of the water table and information system to process everything. It is already implemented in three districts (Chakwal, Okara and Rahim Yar Khan). The Punjab government would do itself a huge favor by implementing it in the rest of the province and arming itself with all the information needed to make informed decisions. He also claims to have studied these types of solar projects in other countries, saying he found no evidence that water tables were ruined because of it.
Published in Amanecer, January 6, 2025.
