Solar pumps as instruments for groundwater governance: A policy proposal for Punjab.

With declining costs and attractive government subsidies, solar irrigation pumps have become an attractive proposition for farmers, especially in areas where farm power supply is unavailable or unreliable. However, few farmers are replacing grid-connected pumps with solar pumps. Of the 350,000 solar irrigation pumps deployed in India, less than 5,000 are grid-connected – about 4,200 in Gujarat’s Suryashakti Kisan Yojana, 300 in Karnataka’s Surya Raitha pilot and 200 in Andhra Pradesh’s BLDC pilot. Drawing on experience of grid-connected solar farmers in Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, this paper argues that smartly designed programs for grid-connected solar irrigation pumps can be a ‘Nexus Solution’ that can help states effectively co-manage energy, water, and agriculture. The authors propose a ‘farm top solar scheme’ for Punjab that can: eliminate perverse farm power subsidies, incentivise efficient use of energy and groundwater, increase farmers’ income; and become the fulcrum of Punjab’s Groundwater Governance strategy.