An assessment of groundwater at 41 locations across Punjab over the past three years has indicated a noticeable reduction in groundwater use by farmers, according to the state Water Supply Department.The findings, published in the Ground Water Resources of Punjab State 2024-25 report, show that while groundwater in Punjab remains heavily overexploited, its extraction has declined in recent years.According to the report, overall groundwater extraction fell from 164 per cent in 2023 to 156 per cent in 2025. The number of overexploited blocks also declined from 117 to 111 during the same period.Groundwater levels improved in 81 of Punjab’s 153 blocks. Blocks recording more than a 10 per cent improvement included Pakhowal (Ludhiana), Sirhind (Fatehgarh Sahib), Kahnuwan (Gurdaspur), Samrala (Ludhiana), Tarsikka (Amritsar) and Dera Bassi (SAS Nagar).A senior official attributed the improvement primarily to increased use of canal water by farmers. The official said at least 102 defunct canals had been restored, while work had resumed on canals that existed only in official records, but not on the ground.A Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) report released last year also highlighted improvement in groundwater levels in 74 blocks. Four blocks moved out of the critical category. It further noted that 57 per cent of monitored wells recorded higher groundwater levels compared with the situation a decade ago.Department records show the Kandi Canal has been made operational after more than 40 years. Farmers also received eight new canals in Malerkotla, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Fazilka and Muktsar districts. The department initiated 28 lift-irrigation schemes in Ropar and Hoshiarpur and restarted around 20 defunct schemes.In a reply in Parliament, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said of 185 wells analysed in Punjab during the post-monsoon period, 106 recorded a significant rise in groundwater levels, while 78 registered a decline.However, Opposition leaders questioned the government’s claims. Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar said canal water had still not reached tail-end areas in his constituency. Adampur MLA Sukhjinder Kotli said he had to deepen a well by 10 feet to access water.Meanwhile, senior AAP leader Kuldeep Dhaliwal said canal irrigation coverage had gone up sharply. He claimed that before the AAP government assumed office, only about 21 per cent of Punjab’s nearly 76 lakh acres of farmland received canal irrigation, while the government was now targeting 86 per cent canal irrigation coverage for the kharif crop.