Cotton Crisis For Farmers; Alarming Groundwater Extraction

61% of the cotton arriving at Panjab’s grain markets was sold below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the 2025 monsoon season despite a fixed MSP of USD 89 per quintal. In many cases, cotton fetched as little as USD 33 per quintal—a crushing blow for farmers who were hopeful for fair returns. Only 230K quintals of cotton reached the mandis, compared to 540K quintals in 2024—a sharp decline indicating that many farmers may be moving away from cotton cultivation. Meanwhile, Panjab has also recorded its lowest paddy yield in nearly a decade, even as the state has surpassed its revised procurement target for the 2025–26 season. The paradox of low yield, flood-hit acreage, and record procurement has triggered concerns within the government and agricultural circles over the possibility of large volumes of paddy from neighboring states entering Panjab’s grain markets and being sold at the MSP, camouflaged as local produce. Panjab had reported 3249K hectares under paddy, including 683K hectares under Basmati, which is not procured by government agencies. Nearly 200K hectares suffered crop damage during the floods. Meanwhile, according to the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), in 2024, Panjab has extracted groundwater at a staggering 156.36% of its annual replenishable resource—highest in India. According to the CGWB report, out of Panjab’s 153 groundwater assessment units, 72.55%are classified ‘over-exploited’. Panjab withdrew about 26.27 BCM of groundwater, while the natural recharge was only around 18.6 BCM, a severe deficit that underlines chronic over-exploitation. Meanwhile, Panjab and Haryana have collectively recorded about 90% reduction in stubble fire incidences during the 2025 paddy harvesting season, in comparison to the same period in 2022. The Supreme Court of India questioned the tendency to single out farmers for Delhi's persistent air pollution, observing that stubble burning existed even during the COVID pandemic lockdown when India’s capital region experienced unprecedented clear skies (earlier coverage).