As it fancies forming the next government in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed that it has a “comprehensive solution” for the agrarian state’s groundwater crisis if voted in. Punjab goes to the polls early next year.

The party claims that the issue of groundwater depletion will be completely taken care of in the next 10-15 years through effective policy-making and infrastructure development. This, the party says, “will begin soon after it assumes charge”.

However, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which heads the coalition government in the state with the BJP, termed it a “hollow claim by a party which wants Punjab’s river water to go to other states”. This, SAD said, is despite the fact that “14 lakh tube-wells are being currently used by farmers in Punjab for drawing water”.

Rapid depletion of groundwater, which irrigates 73 percent of Punjab’s agricultural land, has emerged as a crucial challenge for the state.